Never Let Me Down Again

Today marks the anniversary of a concert that, though it may not hold a high position on favorite shows of all time, has left a deep dent in the memory.

Depeche Mode was ending their “Music for the Masses” tour at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. It coincided with the birthday of Captain MIA, and he wanted to go bad. Dave and I had convinced him though that we had already made other plans. We had in fact convinced him that we were going down to Tijuana, but eventually surprised him with the tickets on the drive up to the show.

The line up was Wire, Thomas Dolby, OMD and, the impossible at the time to stop, Depeche Mode. Wire left little of an impression, which is a shame as I’ve become quite fond of their first album in the years since. Thomas Dolby left a bit more of an impression, but not enough of one to make me go buy a tape; OMD, still a little more – and I did buy a “best of” afterwards. Depeche Mode could have done no wrong, and did. No wrong that is.

There are two specific events that I remember quite clearly from this show. First, at some point during the day, between bands, I began to see the random cardboard food tray flying through the air. Sometimes there was an empty cup, or a popcorn container. Suddenly en masse, the air was filled with flying trash. There was a point where I couldn’t see across the stadium because there was so much shit in the air. I laughed and laughed…

Second thing was the rain.

June 18th of that year was a fairly standard June 18th for Southern California, it was clear and it was hot. That night, midway through the Depeche Mode set, it began to cloud over. As they began to play “Blasphemous Rumors” the rain started to fall. Partway through the song, lightning actually flashed as if these guys had the direct connection to the universe’s best lighting guy – and that connection was made by insulting him. I’m not a religious man, and if possible even less so at that time, but I remember freaking a little bit and wishing those guys would cut the song short. They finished though, and as they did, the rain stopped.

Even then, coming home from the show, that rain seemed unreal in some way, part of the show.

Here’s the kicker to this whole little trip down concert memory lane (at least for me): This Depeche Mode “Concert For The Masses” took place exactly 20 years ago.

Let me go ahead and repeat that, it was 20 frigging years ago. That does not seem at all possible, it seems like more stage magic, like some hypnotic trick of the light they played on me while “Everything Counts” blasted out over the Rose Bowl. It’s a number that’s way too big.

Anyway… Happy Birthday Captain MIA, wherever you are.