On Thursday, April 23rd, 2009, I experienced a few firsts:
1. After being a Depeche Mode fan for 28 years, I finally saw them live for the first time!
2. After being a television fan for 45 years, I went to my first taping of a real honest-to-goodness hit TV show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!
I'm sure that there were more firsts, but those are the two that stand out in my mind.
But I'm sure you are not reading this to find out more in depth things about MY life, right?
So, anyway, me and my buddy Mike made the trek up to L.A. to attend the taping, thanks to the V.I.P. passes provided by the very wonderful Jacki Feldstein over at EMI. Now, V.I.P. doesn't necessarily mean that we are special... although it was pretty darn cool to stand in a reserved area on stage right.
So, we get there two hours after we leave (more than double the normal time it takes to get to this area of Hollywod), meet up with Jacki, who gives us our wristbands and then, when we find out that drinks are on the house, yours truly starts to drink like a fish. One drink gone in moments, followed by another. And then another. And then a few more. I must have finished off around six cans of Coke Zero by showtime!!
So, Kimmel comes out, says a few things to 12,000+ crowd (I wasn't one of the 12,000. I was one of the +) and before you know it, Dave Gahan, Martin Gore and Andrew Fletcher are on stage (with their two longtime tour musicians) and then proceed to perform "Wrong", the first single off of their fab new album Sounds Of The Universe!
So, I'm pleased as pie, obviously. Even though the band seemed to be a bit stiff, it was well worth finally seeing them in the flesh. I think Dave even waved at me. Well, he could have been waving at the other 12,000 folks around me, but I doubt it. I think he meant that first wave for me.
So, a few moments after "Wrong" ends, Kimmel and the show's other guests come out on stage, Jimmy says his closing bit and then D-Mode kick into "Personal Jesus". Thought this song was being performed only a few minutes after "Wrong", the band were certainly a lot more loose...
So, the Kimmel taping may have ended there (and they didn't even broadcast the full "Personal Jesus" performance) but the band continued playing more music!
They slipped into "Walking In My Shoes" before tackling a few more songs from Sounds Of The Universe: "Come Back" and "Peace" (on of my fave songs on the album). For what I thought was going to be the last song, the Mode boys performed an extended version of "Enjoy The Silence" (which featured Martin getting funky on guitar). Surprisingly, instead of ending the set with that killer track, they then played "Never Let Me Down Again", yet another great set closer!
After that great performance, we race back to the car, drive over to Tommy's Burgers on Hollywood Blvd and grab a much needed and well-deserved meal (and there's really no better place to go for burgers than Tommy's!)
A great night was had by all.... apart from some of the few guys selling bootleg t-shirts, who were busted by the cops! Nya-Nya-Nya-Nya-Nya! That'll teach you!!
Hope that everyone else at this party had a great time! Thanks to Mike P. for tagging along and especially Jacki for inviting me! So, any V.I.P. passes for their upcoming gigs at the Hollywood Bowl? I want Dave to wave at me again!
Peace, love and pancakes,
Stephen SPAZ Schnee
No comments:
Post a Comment