Depeche Mode Deliver Upbeat "Memento Mori" at Kaseya Center

The best albums always made it seem like their songs couldn't be sequenced in any other order. There are peaks and emotional valleys, with one song building upon another. Live shows give an artist an even wider range to create a mood, and for a veteran act like Depeche Mode, which has more than 150 songs in its 40-plus-year catalogue, there's a lot to play around with. On Thursday night at the Kaseya Center, the band played a couple dozen of its songs that left the crowd in the packed arena standing on their feet and dancing for more than two hours.

It started with opener DIIV (pronounced "dive), a New York band that plays an effect-pedal-heavy brand of shoegaze. The quartet jams out a fuzzy, dreamy kind of noise perfectly balanced with frontman Zachary Smith's androgynous vocals. Most of the early birds who were in their seats for their 7:30 start enjoyed DIIV's half-hour set, even if, with the band's all-business stage presence, they couldn't have been more different than the headliner.
At 8:45, the houselights went black for Depeche Mode as drummer Christian Eigner and keyboardist Peter Gordeno took the stage. They were followed by songwriter/guitarist/keyboardist Martin Gore. After a few beats from the drummer, out came singer Dave Gahan to loud roars. Gahan did some yoga-like lunging poses to great approval, showing that even though he's 61, he's still fit enough to entertain. And for nearly two dozen songs, he sang, danced, and twirled the microphone stand with reckless abandon.

The band began with a couple of songs from its new album, Memento Mori, from which this tour took its name. Memento Mori translates from Latin into "Remember you must die." But as glum as that title sounds, the night and the songs were upbeat. Even later, when the band dedicated the song "World in My Eyes" to fallen founding member Andrew Fletcher, there was no time to get too down, and the songs kept moving.

Gahan walked out to the T-shaped catwalk that protruded into the crowd, clapping his hands to build excitement as they went into a peppy rendition of "Everything Counts." For "Precious," the band's sound was much fuller than any act with only three members playing instruments has the right to be. Later in the night, Depeche Mode morphed into the sleaziest bar band from the end of the world as they played "I Feel You," followed by "A Pain That I'm Used To."
As the evening continued, the audience's energy wilted as newer, lesser-known songs were played. By the end of a frenetic version of "John the Revelator," Gahan cupped his hands to his ear as he awaited further applause. The crowd acquiesced and was rewarded with a blistering version of the 1990 classic "Enjoy the Silence." The band drew the song out, almost like a jazz band, giving each member a solo. First, the drums had the spotlight, then the keys, followed by Gore banging on his guitar strings with his black-painted fingernails.

The band pulled that charade of the show being over before playing some of its most famous songs. After a few minutes of cheers, they returned for a quiet, acoustic "Condemnation." Gahan said, "Alright, let's have some fun now," and the band went into its first hit, "I Just Can't Get Enough." The band extended the song for a bit of crowd participation, where Gahan raised his hands like a conductor to get the whole arena to "Oooohhhhh" in unison. Then came the epic "Never Let Me Down Again," ending the evening on the highest of notes with "Personal Jesus." The four musicians took a bow, a reminder that eventually, concerts must die, too.

Setlist:
- "My Cosmos Is Mine"
- "Wagging Tongue"
- "Walking in My Shoes"
- "It's No Good"
- "Sister of Night"
- "In Your Room"
- "Everything Counts"
- "Precious"
- "My Favourite Stranger"
- "A Question of Lust"
- "Strangelove"
- "Ghosts Again"
- "I Feel You"
- "A Pain That I'm Used To"
- "World in My Eyes"
- "Wrong"
- "Stripped"
- "John the Revelator"
- "Enjoy the Silence"

Encore:
- "Condemnation"
- "Just Can't Get Enough"
- "Never Let Me Down Again"
- "Personal Jesus"