vivianaball.ro

The memories from Budapest, Hungary are so vivid! I remember being greeted by 2 wonderful friends of mine at the airport (it was my pleasure to share my Depeche Mode experience with Octa and Gabi) and enjoying the drive in our Logan to the hotel. The weather was really bad, cloudy and cold for that time of the year, but the music on my ipod made us all cheer!

Well, the local beer we had on the day we arrived, the nice hotel, smoking on that tiny tiny balcony, watching the mafiosi across the street (!), Octavian’s new pants, standing and watching Depeche Mode in the heavy rain (like really heavy!), Dave dancing and singing in the rain (especially Peace), dragging my wet boots after the concert (I guess they weighed around 5 kilos each). This is what I wrote a few days after the concert in Budapest. The Depeche Mode concert in Hungary was the only one we drove back from. We could have attended the one in Bulgaria as well (we had tickets) but, unfortunately, it got canceled. Oh, well…

Next stop, BARCELONA!

Your captain has decided not to stop in Rome, Italy. I am sorry about this. A lot of turbulence in the sky of my existence at the time. I would not be able to objectively describe a Depeche Mode concert on that nice stadium. That much will always stay with me: the Olympic Stadium in Rome is very nice, especially at sunset. All sunsets… In the heat of the moment, though, I wrote something. Just some things I noticed. No pics.

I’m taking a ride with my best band!

Dear passengers, this is your Romanian captain speaking. Allow me to welcome you on board of our Depeche Mode aircraft. You have chosen to be part of this Depeche Mode Tour of the Universe (in 6 days). Fasten your seatbelt, sit back, relax and enjoy the beautiful memories of 7 Depeche Mode concerts in 6 countries across the Globe. Let me show you the world in my eyes…

Tel Aviv, Israel, 9 and 10 May, 2009

May 9 is Dave’s birthday, and as my birthday is May 10, it was the first time Dave and I celebrated our b-days in the same country (the Holy Land). I turned 36 in the taxi, on the way to the hotel.

On the night we arrived in Tel Aviv there was no one in the street. I mean no one… Still, we found the only bar that was opened and they were playing DEPECHE MODE (It’s No Good for a start and then many other DM songs, and we all sang along and drank local beer on the night of my b-day).

On May 10, 2009, it was the first time I saw Depeche Mode live on TOTU, and it was the first official concert (well, after the warm up in Luxembourg on May 6).

I will never forget the sun setting as if God decided to drop the curtains to create the proper atmosphere for the concert on Ramat Gan Stadium. Terry Poison (Israel) left me bouche-bée and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (USA) were born for me on that stage! A sincere thank you to the lead singer in this band who dedicated a song to Depeche Mode.

The Israeli fan club video was played on the side screens and we all cheered waiting for the kings to appear. And so they did. Tons of fireworks were held by the audience. Really the only place on Earth where I saw that happen at a Depeche Mode concert! Lovely…

We sang happy birthday to Dave and I yelled from the bottom of my lungs that it was my birthday on that day, and people around us wished me Happy B-day…in Romanian (!). We found out that out of 10 people around us, 4 were of pure Romanian extraction, and the rest had some Romanian descent.

We sang every song. Depeche Mode played In Sympathy (my favorite on SOTU), and I could see Dave make the gesture from Halo (the strongest man in the Universe) when saying “you’re strong”! It was a premiere for me to see Dave waving his arms sideways like a swan after In Chains. And the new makeup and outfits!

The stage wasn’t very different from the one on Touring the Angel, but I found it more welcoming and warmer.

Photos before the concert, from the concert and photos from Tel Aviv in 3 galleries.

Next stop: Rome, Italy!

My January trip to Belgium was too short. Links to the galleries of pics I took in the 3 cities here:

Brussels

Bruges

and Antwerp

Belgium is the place for people who like details, rain, chocolate, antiques, statues, cathedrals, small and medium size squares and old beautiful buildings (most of the time nicely painted in gold), moules, chocolate and moules again…My best friend lives in Brussels and she really made me feel like home in Belgium. Andreea is the sweetest friend I have ever had.

The Depeche Mode concert in Antwerp on January 23 was a delight. It was my last Depeche Mode concert this year. I witnessed an outburst of energy from Dave Gahan and a rather unusual end to Home from Martin. The small Sportspaleis (17,000 people) was the perfect place for me to say Good bye, Lovers… I am using Antwerp for Anvers, just because this is what Dave used when greeting the audience after Hole to Feed.

These are the pics I took in Antwerp, at the Depeche Mode concert.

Right after getting off the Germanwings plane (2 hour flight) we jumped into a bus that took us to the Berlin Mitte (center). From there, the adventure of getting to the hotel was no adventure at all, as Germany’s transport is very well organized and logical and you simply cannot get lost. Still, for me even the clearest directions seem complicated! The fact that I managed pretty well with the transport in Berlin, was a first in my life!!! I managed to read maps and figure out quickly how to get to Warschauerstrasse, Alexander Platz or Friedrichstrasse… Well, for all of you reading this it may seem nothing, but for me it was another reason to feel proud!

Berlin was definitely a different experience compared to the western part of Germany. The buildings are just huge and everything seems to be on a larger scale. The view from the TV Tower was fantastic, but I cannot say the same thing about the restaurant. Man, it looked like the old Intercontinental top floor restaurant in Bucharest! The roads are large and clean and although it was snowing like hell, hundreds of machines were cleaning the main streets.

My pics from Berlin

The hotel Michelberger, my home for 5 days, was literally next to the o2 arena (400 m) where Depeche Mode gave a great concert on January 09, 2010. On January 8, I went to 2 Depeche Mode preparties. Unfortunately the so called And One vs. Depeche Mode party at Last Cathedral did not go as planned (setlistwise). The one at Postbahnhof on the other hand was lovely as AndyK from Melotron was dj-ing there and the music was marvelous.

Pics from the preparties in Berlin

It was freezing cold all the time, and on the day of the concert I could go back to the hotel to change and freshen up which was great. The first visit to the venue occurred on January 09, at around 16.00, as I imagined not so many fans would stand in the cold to wait to get in…

Waiting to get in:

At 6 sharp they let the people in (2 hours before the concert started). Nobody pushed, pulled or yelled! The atmosphere was joyful and calm. No need to say that the security was absolutely perfect and we all entered the venue in no time. It is no joke when they boast about the fact that 100,000 people can enter and exit that venue in 15 minutes…It was amazing how quickly we exited, back to the freezing cold and cutting wind and snow.

The concert was the best I have seen so far in terms of 1) chemistry between Dave and Martin, 2) audience and 3) the great spot that I had!!! The full set of gestures accompanying the so well known by now part after Home when Dave comes on stage after Martin’s solo looked (at least to me!) like the Germans dancing at the table, beer in their hands!!! For sure all of them had a great time and Dave was absolutely exhausted at the end! He went back to the great screaming a little bit, but it blended in wonderfully. Another nice thing was the fact that I was practically in the second row of people standing. So I could see every detail, every move, every touch! So I could also see Dave and Martin sit on Martin’s side of the stage to watch a full song by Nitzer Ebb. Dave was almost head banging and enjoying it big time!

During the whole concert Dave spoke a lot with the audience, pointed, laughed, enjoyed every minute of it. And he called Martin with a French accent again! And he called Martin THE SON OF MERCURY, FREDDIE before Stripped! My favorite moment was when Dave listened to Martin’s guitar for quite a longer time than usual and then pinched the cords in a very warm and tender way. My second favorite thing was Insight for the first time. My favorite song was by far Enjoy the Silence and I remembered again how many beautiful moments of my life I owe to this band.

Depeche Mode Berlin 2010 concert photos

The setlist was:

In Chains
Wrong
Hole To Feed
Walking In My Shoes
It’s No Good
A Question Of Time
Precious
World In My Eyes
Insight
Home
Miles Away/The Truth Is
Policy Of Truth
In Your Room
I Feel You
Enjoy The Silence
Never Let Me Down Again

Encore

One Caress
Stripped
Behind The Wheel
Personal Jesus

Here is a link to a good video of Insight.

Luckily, the afterparty was a few blocks away, at Postbahnhof (10 min walking distance from the o2 arena). As too many people were flowing in after the concert, we decided to go to the Speicher (the second afterparty, anyway it was on the way to the hotel, so why not?) where I was pleasantly surprised by the Dj who played Clean, Flexible and My Joy (among other great Depeche Mode tunes) and it sort of felt like Dodo’s Dookie.

Depeche Mode afterparty, Berlin 2010

Another absolutely wonderful Depeche Mode experience! I look forward to the next concert I am going to attend in Antwerp, on January 23. See you there!