She's Gone

I know that it has been a near eternity since my last update and, other than sheer laziness, I really have no excuse for this long absence. That's not to say that I haven't tried keeping up with the blogs that I follow cause I've certainly been doing my best! I've also discovered quite a few new ones so most of my computer time seems to get spent reading rather than writing. Starting now though this is going to change. Maybe this will be my first New Year's resolution as well. Am pretty sure that this resolution should be fairly easy to keep unlike some of my previous year's ones that never really had a hope in hell of succeeding cause they were just too bloody unrealistic! No doubt there will be one or two unrealistic ones that somehow manage to sneak by for this year but I'll deal with them when the time comes. Otherwise I have every intention of doing my darnest to try to keep a reasonable perspective when it comes to all of my 2013 resolutions. More to follow in the days to come...promise!!!

Depeche Mode

One of my all time favourite bands is Depeche Mode, a band that I've been crazy about since high school - trust me when I say its been a lifetime or three! Fell instantly head over heels the moment I heard "Just Can't Get Enough" on the radio when I was 17, and for those keeping score, this would be all the way back to 1981. I've been equally passionate about a few other bands - the Clash, Social Distortion and Manic Street Preachers are all bands that I couldn't dream of living without - but all the others are no longer still together though they do still exist to some extent in other reincarnated forms. Depeche Mode is different. After the departure of one of the original four - Vince Clarke - upon completion of their first album, their lineup has remained intact with the other three founding members  remaining - Dave Gahan, Martin Lee Gore  and Andrew Fletcher.

Each new album release never failed to disappoint. Something quite rare in the music industry was a band that actually continued to get better and better with age. Their newer music is just as powerful and memorable as some of their decades old hit singles which is really quite rare not to mention an accomplishment considering the band has now been around for over three decades! Personally for any important event of my life these past thirty plus years, there is an associated Depeche Mode song!

I was just reading on Billboard that the band's last effort, 2009's "Sounds of the Universe" peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 which is none too shabby. Their new album, which will be Depeche Mode's 13th studio album, is due to be released in March of next year. Plus, they have just announced tour dates to promote their new album.

European Tour Dates 2013:

05-07 Tel Aviv, Israel - Hayarkon Park
05-10 Athens, Greece - Terra Vibe
05-12 Sofia, Bulgaria - Georgi Asparuhov Stadium
05-15 Bucharest, Romania - National Stadium
05-17 Istanbul, Turkey - Kucukciftlik Park
05-19 Belgrade, Serbia - Usce Park
05-21 Budapest, Hungary - Puskas Ferenc Stadium
05-23 Zagreb, Republic of Croatia - Hippodrome
05-25 Bratislava, Slovakia - Inter Stadium
05-28 London, England - O2 Arena
06-01 Munich, Germany - Olympic Stadium
06-03 Stuttgart, Germany - Mercedes-Benz Arena
06-05 Frankfurt, Germany - Commerzbank Arena
06-07 Berne, Switzerland - Stade De Suisse
06-09 Berlin, Germany - Olympic Stadium
06-11 Leipzig, Germany - Red Bull Arena
06-13 Copenhagen, Denmark - Parken
06-15 Paris, France - Stade De France
06-17 Hamburg, Germany - Imtech Arena
06-22 Moscow, Russia - Locomotive Stadium
06-24 St. Petersburg, Russia - SKK Arena
06-27 Borlange, Sweden - Peace & Love Festival
06-29 Kiev, Ukraine - Olympic Stadium
07-03 Dusseldorf, Germany - Esprit Arena
07-07 Werchter, Belgium - Rock Werchter Festival
07-11 Bilbao, Spain - BBK Festival
07-13 Lisbon, Portugal - Optimus Alive Festival
07-16 Nimes, France - Antic Arina
07-18 Milan, Italy - San Siro Stadium
07-20 Rome, Italy - Olympic Stadium
07-23 Prague, Czech Republic - Olympic Stadium
07-25 Warsaw, Poland - National Stadium
07-27 Vilnius, Lithuania - Vingis Park
07-29 Minsk, Belarus - Minsk Arena

So far no North American dates but I'm sure that they will soon follow. Definitely going to see them come hell or high water. Saw them on their last tour and they were unbelievable!