Depeche Mode’s Thursday night appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live drew more than 12,000 people to Los Angeles’ famed corner of Hollywood and Vine, the largest crowd gathered there since the show first launched in 2003 with a performance by Coldplay. The band played seven songs in just under 45 minutes, including “Wrong,” the first single off their latest album, Sounds Of The Universe, along with fan favorites “Personal Jesus,” “Enjoy The Silence” and the set’s closing number “Never Let Me Down Again,” during which singer Dave Gahan led a sea of Depeche devotees to reach for the sky before humbly bro-hugging his right-hand man of nearly 30 years, Martin Gore.
Although the band wasn’t scheduled to hit the stage until 7:30, by 2:00 p.m.hundreds had lined up in hopes of securing prime spots in one of four viewing areas (celebrities like Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Jared Leto and Christina Applegate along with five of this season’s American Idol rejects gawked from a side-stage position). But no matter where you stood within the four-block radius cordoned off for the show, every fan got a clear, hi-def look at the band courtesy of a 20-foot-tall video wall and five additional giant LCD screens. “It was the biggest outdoor concert we’ve ever done,” said Jimmy Kimmel Live music booker Scott Igoe. “There’s no doubt Depeche Mode has a strong and loyal following in Los Angeles. We gave away 10,000 wristbands in one day and estimate a good 2,000 more people just showed up. You could see and hear Dave Gahan from five blocks away!”
Dozens of LAPD officers were on hand to clear walkways and keep the peace, some of whom are old enough to recall the near-riot that broke out in 1990 when Depeche Mode appeared at a West Hollywood record store to promote the album Violator (15,000 fans showed up for the signing). But with the exception of a fence that nearly came down when one group of spectators was moved, and, according to a witness, a street fight involving former Nine Inch Nails bassist Danny Lohner, there were only three arrests in total, each for illegal vending said a public information officer for the LAPD.
Set list:
“Wrong”
“Personal Jesus”
“Walking in My Shoes”
“Come Back”
“Peace”
“Enjoy the Silence”
“Never Let me Down Again”
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- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC.
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