Depeche Mode Concert

So, yesterday, my lovely wife and I took a little trip to Denver for a Depeche Mode concert.
Depeche Mode is a synthesyzer(sp?) band that was very popular in the 80's. Since then, they have gone their separate ways and have now come back together and produced an album, "Playing the Angel," which has a very classic DM feel but fits in very well with the current generation of music.

So, we purchased tickets on-line through a seller on EBAY for roughly face value - on the floor, 11th row. I was a little dissapointed that we couldn't get better seats, but it all worked out in the end.

We drove up to Denver during the day, witnessed a small vehicle accident on the way, and arrived just in time to make a quick visit the the 16th Street Market. We checked out the Barnes and Noble and the Starbucks very well, but didn't catch much of the rest of the market - I guess more for next time.

We waited outside the Magness Arena on the Denver University Campus from about 6:30pm until they let us in a 7:00pm-ish. The first thing they told us was that we could not bring outside food or drink (including a can of pop from the pop-machine located about 100 feet away), chains (where did that come from?), or cameras. Well, as it turned out, I had a camera on me, and didn't feel like going back to the truck, so I hid it and went it when it was time. I thought it was curious that they said "no" to those things but failed to even mention knives, guns, or bombs.

When they brought us in they, "searched" us with a quick pat down that might have been sufficient to discover if I was concealing a machine gun, rocket launcher, or ICBM, but not much else. My camera was safe.

Once inside, I discovered why there was no outside food or drinks, or chains allowed. They had sufficient food and drinks inside for the very reasonable price of $3.00 for a small bottle of water, or $4.50 for a cup of soda. If people had had chains, I'm sure they would have used them - where is the government to investigate soda and water price gouging at these events? I didn't even look at the food, I'm sure I couldn't afford it. We went to find our seats carrying one cup of liquid gold.

The auditorium was virtually empty when we arrived, and we felt good about our chances of moving up once the concert started. The opening band came on (The Bravery I think their name was), and we listened to them play. I guess they were good, but I couldn't make out very many words that they were saying - it had a very punkish feel to it. The beat was good.

During the intermission between the two bands, we went out and walked the corridors and watched the people. It was interesting to see what kind of people the band had drawn to the concert. The range of characters was amazing: there were older (50's ish) folks all the way down to a girl who couldn't have been more than 6. People were dressed like they just came from the office, and some were dressed in black with white make-up. One lady even had on a shiny black outfit, from head to toe - including the hat.

The concert itself was great, and had two encores. The auditorium really filled up and I'd say it was almost a sold out show. We managed to get right up against the stage and I managed to get some decent pictures too! I did have to watch out for the security guard guy, because I think he was watching me. What's the big deal with pictures anyway?

So, the concert ended and we went out and bought some concert gear - two shirts, a keychain and two coffee mugs which came to an amount I'm not clear about and probably don't want to know. Whatever it was, it was worth it. How many times do you actually get to leave the kids at home and go to a concert with your wife?

The concert was loud, and I felt like I had mufflers on my ears when it was over. My hearing is better today.

Afterwords, we thought we could go out back and wait for the band to come out and sign autographs and we waited and waited by the vans they would be getting into. Soon after our waiting started a rent-a-cop came and told us we had to get on the sidewalk (about 200 feet away). Someone asked what would happen if we didn't move - then the cops were called. It must have been a slow night in Denver because about 5 minutes later they showed up and shooed everyone to the sidewalk.

After waiting another half hour to forty-five minutes, some vans drove by with dark tinted windows - and that was it. They were gone. We kept talking with other fans for a while until the police came back and as it turns out, you can't even stand on the public sidewalk in Denver anymore. We were told to move on - maybe the crowd of 15 was a little bit scary for the University to handle. If it hadn't been drizzling and 40 degrees I would have felt more inclined to express my constitutional right to assembly on the public sidewalk, but it was cold and I didn't have a sweater. My comfort took priority over my need to make a statement.