I remember the day like it was yesterday; it was Friday, 04 September 1998. I was at work and while running a report, I decided to check in and see what the latest news was on depechemode.com. I had heard the talk; yes, Depeche Mode was going to tour to promote their "new" release The Singles 86-98 and I was hoping this was finally going to be my chance to see them live. It always seemed whenever DM was in Southern California, I couldn't attend the show due to various reasons: conflicts with work or school or family conflicts which prevented me from attending The Concert For The Masses at the Rose Bowl in 1988.
There it was front and center on the main page. If you pre-ordered The Singles 86-98, you would be able to pre-order tickets for selected shows in North America. This was like a dream come true!!!! I knew that DM has a huge fan base in Southern California and shows sell out very quickly. I silently prayed and crossed my fingers for a Los Angeles show date on the pre-sale. And if it wasn't too much to ask for, the concert to be at the Great Western Forum (not Irvine) and on a Friday or Saturday night. I scrolled down the list and the last date was:
Friday, 18 December 1998 -- 8:00pm -- Great Western Forum
This couldn't be possible; it couldn't be happening to me. Was this real? I had to double check my computer screen to make sure I was reading this correctly before I called my friend. I figured that I was going to get The Singles 86-98 anyway so I may as well pre-order in order to get a better chance at getting tickets for the Forum. I found myself immediately on Tower Record's webpage placing my pre-order. As soon as I was finished, I called my friend and asked her what she was doing that night and not to make plans because we going to have the experience of our lives.
The holiday weekend seemed to pass by slowly and I couldn't wait to receive that e-mail giving me my password to get into the presale. Finally it arrived on Tuesday; I immediately logged into the ticketmaster pre-sale and crossed my fingers for decent seats or just seats period! 2 tickets came up in Loge 34, Row K. Okay ... not front row dead center, but at least not in the upper bowl either. I completed my transaction and the long wait for 18 December began.
It seemed like the longest 3 months of my
life just waiting for the day to arrive. Finally, the day arrived and it
was time to leave for LA. Of course it being Friday, the traffic was
horrible getting down the 405 freeway. I think I was driving my husband
crazy by looking at my watch every 5 minutes. Upon arriving at my friends
house, I left my hubby with her hubby and girls-night-out at the Forum
began. We were blasting Violator from her car as we were driving
down Manchester Avenue.
There it was ... on the marquee of the Forum ... it was really going to happen! We couldn't wait to park the car and get inside the building. It seemed like we had to park so far away; it was really at Hollywood Park Race Track across the street. We raced across the street and finally got inside the building. We browsed the merchandise area and decided to take our seats and wait for DM to come on stage. The anticipation was killing me. I stayed away from any post on a mailing list or message board stating what the setlist is. I wanted to be completely surprised. Around 8:00, the lights went dim and the opening band, Stabbing Westward came out to play their set. I personally didn't think they were not that bad, but they were definitely not DM!
When the house lights dimmed for the second time, the whole Forum went absolutely crazy! This was it; the moment! I jumped out of my seat and started to scream. I had to remind myself that I had a job interview 4 days later and I wasn't going to be able to scream all night long. Instead of screaming when the band took the stage, I just clapped as hard as I could. It was an amazing sensation to see and hear everyone around me singing the lyrics to A Question of Time, World in my Eyes and Policy of Truth. I was fortunate enough to have an aisle seat so I had a little bit more room to dance. It was like one huge party and everyone was having a great time.
I couldn't help but feel that when Martin stepped up to sing A Question of Lust, he was singing that to each and every individual person in the Forum that night. I still get tingly when I think about that moment. Other hi-lights from the show was someone handed Dave a cowboy hat during Personal Jesus and he wore it for a little while, watching the crowd dance during Enjoy the Silence, seeing all the lighters come out during Condemnation or all the video imagery on the screens during the show.
My favorite moment from the show was during Never Let Me Down Again when Dave started moving his arms from side to side and everyone there followed. It was amazing to see 16,000+ fans in unison!
Dave working the crowd at the Forum.
But like everything, all good things come to an end. DM ended their set with an awesome rendition of Barrel of a Gun. I don't even think DM were off the stage when we started to cheer for encores. Martin started the first encore set with Somebody. Not exactly in the 86-98 time frame, but I sure wasn't complaining either. Somebody has always been one of my favorite (of the earlier) songs and I didn't think I would get to see it live. This LA crowd got to experience Behind the Wheel instead of Stripped in the encore set as well as I Feel You. I just got the feeling that we were going to get one more song from DM and my friend and I were making "bets" on what that song was going to be. She said People are People and I said Just Can't Get Enough. Well, I was correct and that was the song that ended our show. It was an experience that I'll never forget and I can't wait for the next tour!!!!!!!!!
One of the "souvenirs" that KROQ was handing out after the show in the Forum parking lot. I pushed my way up front and tried my best to get a couple of stickers. Because I am short, people were just reaching over me to get the stickers when the guy tried to hand them to me. I could tell the guy only had 2 more stickers left and so I screamed, "come on, one for the short girl down front". He laughed and reached over and handed me both of his remaining stickers. Score!
On to the Exciter tour in 2001.
edited 27 May 2001