Yesterday, Depeche Mode (arguably the most popular electronic act in the world) released a live concert DVD of their performance in Paris, France. All I have to say is... wow. Their performance is incredible; I rank it right up there with Nine Inch Nails (who also released a live DVD earlier this year). It's interesting to watch DM make the metamorphasis from studio music to live music; after more than 20 years they're still kicking ass. Dave Gahan (vocalist; left) kept the show alive with his exuberent stage presence. For someone going into their mid-40's, this guy looked like he was going to explode if he didn't find a way to release all of his pent-up energy. And he did- running around the stage, joking around with his bandmates between songs, and working the crowd. He's a great singer- his deep British voice can go from snide and arrogant to breathy and souful in a heartbeat. Martin Gore (multi-instrumentalist; right) played guitar on the tour, and also sung a few songs of his own. While not as flamboyant a performer as Gahan, he's a great singer in his own right; his soft vocals are the very opposite of Gahan's. While not a drop-dead amazing guitar player, he's still very good and pulled off his part of the concert effortlessly. And no, I have no idea what that white feather thing is on his shirt's shoulder. Then, there's Andrew Fletcher (keyboardist; center). I was kind of disappointed at first, because Anton Corbijn (the DVD director) didn't show him nearly as often as he showed Gore and Gahan, and halfway through the performance it hit me- the guy has no stage presence. He'd wave his hand around while playing the keyboard with one hand... he'd shake his ass during the drum solo's... a few times, when he didn't have anything to do in a particular song, he'd get up and walk around. I kind of felt sorry for him. The two backup musicians (one on drums and the other on keyboard) and the two female backup singers got much more camera attention than Fletcher, and deservedly so. Their names escape me, though, and my DVD's at home, so blegh. The group played a wide variety of songs, including fan-pleasers like Never Let Me Down Again, Personal Jesus, and Enjoy the Silence. They played a large ammount of material off of their most recent album, Exciter, including Dream On and Freelove. What's more, several of the older songs were given a makeover for this tour; Personal Jesus, for example, broke out into a chaotic electronic keyboard solo halfway through the song. I don't know how much this means to any of you if you aren't Depeche Mode fans, but if you like them or are just an electronic music fan, I highly recommend this DVD. It's incredible.