ANALYSIS/OPINION:
Watching Depeche Mode’s Thursday night show at Capitol One Arena — formerly the Verizon Center — it was clear that their songs have aged well, which is something a lot of other 1980s synth pop acts can’t claim. The band’s show, to promote their 14th album, “Spirit,” showed a group solidly locked and loaded, with lead singer Dave Gahan still as utterly capable as ever of seducing a crowd.
Keyboardist/guitarist and primary songwriter Martin Gore, whose writing has covered serious topics like corporate greed (“Everything Counts”), sexual freedoms (“Master and Servant”) and tolerance (“People Are People”) in the past has kept it up with new tunes like “Going Backwards” and “Where’s the Revolution.”
But the band’s songs about interpersonal relationships is where they soar most. From the downright forlorn and pleading (“Cover Me,” “A Pain That I’m Used To,” “Walking in My Shoes”), to the primal sort of passion (“Personal Jesus,” “In Your Room,” “Stripped”) to a love untold (“Enjoy the Silence,” “A Question of Lust,” “Home”), Mr. Gahan still shines delivering the vocals on songs that drive to the heart of these emotions.
Mr. Gahan’s ability to emote through music makes the perfect vehicle to drive an audience senses wild. Onstage this sensuality plays out, with Mr. Gore the ying to Mr. Gahan’s yang. Mr. Gore’s choirboy lead vocals on “Somebody” and “A Question of Lust” made the ladies next to me swoon (“He’s so cute!” they yelled during the latter), while Mr. Gahan’s growling lead on songs like “World in My Eyes” and “I Feel You” still makes your breath catch with lust.
While this dichotomy could come across as weird, creepy, or even cheesy for a lot of bands, somehow with Messrs. Gore and Gahan front and center, it still rings true.
There were two covers in the show’s list of 23 songs. One was a snippet of “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five that Mr. Gahan had worked into the end of “Barrel of a Gun.” The combination of rap and synth may seem a bit odd, but lyrically the styles matched up perfectly — telling of trying to stay sane while pushed to the edge.
The other cover was of David Bowie’s “Heroes,” complete with Mr. Gahan doing Bowie’s famous back-and-forth dance sway. (Fun fact: Mr. Gahan joined Depeche Mode in 1980 after the band heard him covering “Heroes” at a local jam session.)
As a Gen-Xer myself, it’s interesting to see the bands I grew up on still playing. For some of those acts, their proverbial shtick now seems tired or even repetitive (Red Hot Chili Peppers, I’m looking at you). But Depeche Mode, unlike other ’80s bands who started out at the same time, have managed to springboard their synth pop into a sound that has changed and improved, and yet never lost the edge along the way.
Everything counts in small amounts, and in the case of Depeche Mode, it’s the incredible staying power of Mr. Gore’s songs and the stamina of Mr. Gahan’s performance to make you feel those songs live still.
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