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Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan does not move like a man who spent much of the spring in the hospital. The Britpop electro monsters had to cancel the early dates of their ‘Tour of the Universe” when Gahan had surgery to remove a malignant tumor in his bladder. But at New York’s Madison Square Garden yesterday, Gahan spent the night doing what he does best: wiggling, prancing, twirling his mikestand, blowing kisses to the crowd, and cavorting like a hyperactive goth slut in a black vest. He even threw in a discreet Michael Jackson tribute, yelping “hee hee!” in the middle of “Personal Jesus.” It was the only discreet thing he did all night.
Depeche Mode showed why they remain one of the planet’s most eternally popular bands, at a time when their surviving peers are playing Eighties-nostalgia package tours. You cannot accuse the Depechies of playing it safe, as they geared the show to the hardcore fans, skipping some of their most obvious hits and crowd-pleasers to make time for beloved cult faves. “In Your Room,” an obscure deep cut from the 1993 Songs of Faith and Devotion, became a huge widescreen synth-pomp sex yowl, one of the night’s musical triumphs — and despite the fact that it was never a hit, everybody in the room knew the words. (What can you say about a Depeche Mode show that makes room for “A Question of Time,” “Fly on the Windscreen” and “Home” but not “Everything Counts” or “Just Can’t Get Enough”? You’d have to say these guys know exactly who their crowd is.) Other highlights: “Wrong,” from their excellent new Sounds of the Universe; Gahan’s sultry version of “Stripped”; “Precious,” the 2005 ballad that lingers on as one of the best things they’ve ever ...
Article Source: Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily