Depeche Mode kicked off their 2023 world tour in the US last night (March 23) – check out photos, fan-shot footage and the full setlist below.
The synth-pop duo – comprising Dave Gahan and Martin Gore – delivered a 23-track set at the Golden 1 Center arena in Sacramento, California. To open the concert, they performed ‘My Cosmos Is Mine’ from their new album ‘Memento Mori’ for the first time.
They also debuted ‘Speak To Me’ and ‘Soul With Me’ from the record, and played their recent single ‘Ghosts Again’.
Elsewhere, Depeche Mode dedicated a live rendition of their 1990 single ‘World In My Eyes’ to their late bandmate Andy Fletcher. Black-and-white images of the musician – who died last May aged 60 – appeared on the big screens.
The final portion of the gig included outings for the classic songs ‘Enjoy The Silence’, ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’ and ‘Personal Jesus’, the latter of which served as the encore closer, per Setlist.FM.
‘Sister Of Night’ made its first non-acoustic appearance in the set since 2009 (first time with Gahan on vocals), with ‘A Question Of Lust’ (Gore on vocals) returning as a full band version for the first time since 2013 (a stripped-back rendition was performed in 2017).
Later, Gahan and Gore duetted on ‘Waiting For The Night’, which hadn’t been played since 2009.
Depeche Mode’s longtime creative director Anton Corbijn helmed the visual elements of the new stage show. See a selection of images and videos from the gig below.
Depeche Mode played (via Setlist.FM):
‘My Cosmos Is Mine’ (live debut)
‘Wagging Tongue’
‘Walking In My Shoes’
‘It’s No Good’
‘Sister Of Night’
‘In Your Room (Zephyr Mix)’
‘Everything Counts’
‘Precious’
‘Speak To Me’ (live debut)
‘A Question Of Lust’
‘Soul With Me’ (live debut)
‘Ghosts Again’
‘I Feel You’
‘A Pain That I’m Used To (Jacques Lu Cont Mix)’
‘World In My Eyes’ (dedicated to Andrew Fletcher)
‘Wrong’
‘Stripped’
‘John The Revelator’
‘Enjoy The Silence’
Encore:
‘Waiting For The Night’
‘Just Can’t Get Enough’
‘Never Let Me Down Again’
‘Personal Jesus’
Depeche Mode are also scheduled to tour in Europe, the UK and Ireland later this year. Find any remaining tickets for the UK dates here.
From then, the duo will head out on a second leg of North American shows between late September and mid-December, 2023 (buy tickets here).
In a four-star-review of ‘Memento Mori’ – Depeche Mode’s 15th studio effort, which follows 2017’s ‘Spirit’ – NME said the record is “comfortably their best album this side of the millennium, and, most importantly, a testament to creativity and friendship. The music world is richer for it.”
First appear at Watch Depeche Mode debut new songs as they kick off 2023 ‘Memento Mori’ tour
