New Video Release Soulsavers Depeche Mode as they get ready to tour

New Video Release Soulsavers DepecheMode as they get ready to tour was a top story for this week. Here it is again: (Columbia) Soulsavers, the nom de plume of English production duo Rich Machin + Ian Glover, are joining up with perpetual collaborator Mark Lanegan to tour Europe as particular guests with the legendary Depeche Mode.
This tour is in support of their hauntingly beautiful third album, Broken! Broken was released digitally in the U.S. this past August on Columbia Records; the physical release date is still on the horizon. In support of the release of Broken, their upcoming tour, and the imminent HOWL-iday, they've released the ghoulish and unsettling new video for their song "Unbalanced Pieces," directed by Hiro Murai. Hiro Murai says "The initial concept for 'Unbalanced Pieces' came from a conversation I had with the band over our shared love for David Lynch, particularlly his off putting ambiguity and uncanny portrayal of a dystopian suburbia. The making of the video consisted of shooting still photographs of suburban Rancho Cucamonga, which we then projected inside a dark studio to give us a surreal sense of space and atmosphere."

UK tour update Soul Savers to support Depeche Mode

Returning electro rock giants Depeche Mode are set to hit the road in December, with Soulsavers due to perform alongside them.
It has been Depeche Mode fans for frustrating year. The band opened 2009 by releasing their new album 'Sounds Of The Universe', a revitalised set that saw the 80s storys re-position themselves in a new musical landscape.
The group were shocked to there launching a massive new world tour, however, when lead singer Dave Gahan collapsed in Athens before a show. Rushed to hospital, fans grew more concerned when the Depeche Mode star revealed that doctors had found a tumour in his stomach lining.
The singer quickly recovered to full health after undergoing an emergency operation. However Depeche Mode were kept off the road for months, losing plenty of momentum through a series of cancellations.
Now due to return to the UK for a full arena tour, Depeche Mode are set to bring the hits for their fans. Opening with a show in Glasgow's SECC venue on December 12th Depeche Mode will then travel across the country.
Finishing with a spectacular Christmas show on December 18th in Manchester's MEN Arena, Depeche Mode are set to have plenty of surprises up their sleeves. Joining them on the jaunt are acclaimed remix team Soulsavers.
Rich Machin and Ian Glover released their new album earlier this year, with guest stars including Mark Lanegan, Mike Patton and many more.
Depeche Mode are due to play the following tour dates:
December12 Glasgow SECC13 Birmingham LG Arena15 London O2 Arena16 London O2 Arena18 Manchester MEN Arena

Top 20 Concert Tours

The Top 20 Concert Tours ranks artists by average box office gross per city and includes the average ticket price for gigs in North America. The previous week's ranking is in parentheses. The list is based on data provided to the trade publication Pollstar by concert promoters and venue managers.
TOP 20 CONCERT TOURS
1. (1) AC/DC; $2,430,225; 83.87.
2. (2) Kenny Chesney; $1,451,874; $68.26.
3. (5) Jonas Brothers; $1,314,564; $62.11.
4. (6) Coldplay; $1,285,573; $63.12.
5. (4) Dave Matthews Band; $1,196,661; $46.50.
6. (7) Beyonce; $1,087,214; $92.91.
7. (New) Britney Spears; $1,022,687; $66.58.
8. (8) Rascal Flatts; $922,264; $50.63.
9. (9) Depeche Mode; $861,375; $68.98.
10. (12) No Doubt; $761,939; $53.16.
11. (10) Nickelback; $717,761; $41.49.
12. (11) Kid Rock/Lynyrd Skynyrd; $707,842; $36.68.
13. (13) Def Leppard; $683,550; $46.67.
14. (14) Keith Urban; $645,959; $61.13.
15. (17) Brad Paisley; $609,821; $37.06.
16. (16) American Idols Live; $601,850; $62.23.
17. (18) Blink-182; $556,160; $34.69.
18. (New) Kings Of Leon; $541,652; $44.48.
19. (19) Taylor Swift; $541,606; $49.90.
20. (20) Lil' Wayne; $541,235; $42.13.

Depeche Mode Some Fans Say It's the "Worst Ever"

Depeche Mode "Hole to Feed"
Right now, on depechemode.com there is a 103 page thread on the band's Eric Wareheim directed video for "Hole to Feed." Frequently, the words used to describe the video are "disgusting," "tacky," "gross" and "worst ever." If this ongoing conversation is any indication of fans on the whole, then it's clear that a lot of Modies cannot stand the new clip. But why?
Could it be that the rampant tongue fighting is just too disturbing to handle or is it that the video simply doesn't fit with the image the band has created over the years? Between Black Celebration and Playing the Angel, Depeche Mode worked so frequently with Anton Corbijn (on videos, photographs and cover designs) that he might as well have been a member of the band. His sleek, seductive style became the public image of Depeche Mode, moving them far beyond the awkward early MTV look of their earlier years. How can any director fill the void left by two decades of near constant collaboration? Wareheim's borderline cringe worthy sense of humor is at odds with what Modies have come to expect from the band. At the same time, though, the video proves that Depeche Mode isn't afraid to push the buttons of its fanbase. Whether or not it works is still up for debate. And so, the question remains, what do you think of "Hole to Feed"?

‘Sounds’ of Mediocrity Depeche Mode

The men from Basildon, England are back with their first album in three years. “Sounds of the Universe” is touted as a return to form for Depeche Mode, with the use of several analog synths and drum machines. Unfortunately, this back-to-basics technique only serves to further highlight the averageness that Depeche Mode has become comfortable with.
It is impossible to not have heard Depeche Mode by now, the band having been an work for everything from hip hop to modern bands like The Killers. As the forefront of the electro rock scene, Depeche Mode rose to great heights, such as playing for 80,000 people at the Rose Bowl in 1988 and even inciting a riot in Los Angeles at a Wherehouse signing in 1990 after the release of its classic album “Violator.”
After a four year break that saw lead singer Dave Gahan overdosing on drugs, Depeche Mode returned one member down but seemingly recharged after the excess of the 1990s with its album “Ultra.” However, “Ultra” was a middling release that failed to reach the creative heights of “Violator” or its previous album “Songs of Faith and Devotion,” and many pointed to the loss of Alan Wilder as the cause.
Wilder was widely reported as the one first in the studio and the last one out. His ability to polish songs until golden was why fans, even now, cry for his return; the other band members were remarkably less interested in the production side of things.
This brings us back to the present with “Sounds of the Universe,” and nowhere else is the want for Alan Wilder heard more than here. “Sounds of the Universe,” the band’s 12th studio album, is, in one word, “comfortable.” In two words, it’s “too comfortable.” The excitement is gone, and the band gives fans what they think they expect: dirty synths and dark lyrics. Best viewed as a companion album to its last venture, “Playing the Angel,” it takes everything bad about that album and makes another album out of it.
“Sounds of the Universe” matches that by failing to produce any true songs that mesh together the best of what Depeche Mode had to offer: inventive sounds, catchy hooks and great vocals. No fan could be faulted for comparing this release to the rest of its catalog. In the 1980s, particularly with the band’s heralded releases “Black Celebration” and “Some Great Reward,” Depeche Mode was not content with what was and strived to find new sounds that divine, with Alan Wilder at the forefront of the movement.
Nowadays, it seems like the songs are made to fit the synths. Comprised of 13 songs, the album sounds as if it was made of one song. Synthesizers, which provide the chance to make music out of anything, even hitting a pipe with a wrench, should make for interesting songs that take advantage of that power.
Instead, Depeche Mode opted to use what feels like the pre sets. Simply put, the band members are not even trying anymore, and they settle for what is good enough but nothing more. They do not grind the song down to find the album, instead allowing for songs like “Hole to Feed” to stagnate in a pool of odd bleeps and bloops that sound more like they came from a video game than of the imagination of an almost 30 year old band.
The album begins with a long confluence of analog sounds that assault the ears but resemble something like trumpets heralding a return back to synths, yet the album fails to live up to its introduction. The album’s first single “Wrong” is the only memorable track, featuring a catchy hook, catchy lyrics and a strong vocal performance from Gahan. The rest of the songs blend together in averageness, and one would be hard pressed to try remembering which title belongs with which song, a problem from which the entire album suffers. Depeche Mode’s fans know it could do better.

Older and wiser, Bob Mould still wants to dance

The beer gut is gone, and so is the sebaceous pile of hair. In fact, anyone who knew Bob Mould as the disheveled lead singer of Minneapolis punk band Hüsker Dü in the 1980s would just recognize him now looking lean, sporting a scholarly beard and speaking in complete sentences. "Isn't it funny how that happens?" he says, calling from his recently home in Washington, D.C. "Do you think it might have had anything to do with the alcohol and drugs and being on the road?"

But it's not just Mould's current acquisition of designer polo shirts that has thrown people off. Since his powerhouse trio imploded in 1988, the 48 year old songwriter has built up one of the most interesting resumes in rock 'n' roll, highlighted by experimental techno albums, writing scripts for World Championship Wrestling and keeping a tell all blog.
Sure, he's also played to form along the way as the former frontman for roaring three piece Sugar and now as a revered solo artist, but for the past six years or so, Mould's most unexpected endeavor has kept him the busiest a gay dance party called Blowoff.
Started as an experiment with dance music producer Richard Morel when he moved to D.C., Mould's speculation quickly grew into a popular monthly party for hundreds of shirtless, sweaty men at the 9:30 Club. The duo subsequently decided to take it on the road, expanding into cities like New York, Chicago and Atlanta. On Saturday, Blowoff celebrates its first anniversary in San Francisco at Slim's.
"I started listening to a lot of electronic music out of boredom with guitar rock," Mould says. He roped Morel, who has worked with Depeche Mode and the Killers, into the deal because he convinced him it would be a good way to meet new people. "I didn't actually leave the house much," Morel says. Luckily, Mould delivered on his promise: "We met a lot of people."
The party boasts an eclectic playlist, with the tag team DJs spinning everything from indie rock and electro pop to straight up house and, well, maybe even a little Kelly Clarkson. "You never know what you're going to get," Morel says.
"I used to be a college radio DJ," Mould says. "I've always played the things I needed people to hear."
In 2006, the duo collaborated on an album called "Blowoff" that they would play live at the parties. Now most of the performance is left up to Morel's partner, Nick Lopata, who creates visuals on a laptop in time with the music using looped scenes from films, television shows and archival footage from the Library of Congress.
"The gay community used to be actually on the cutting edge of dance music until 10 years ago, and then something fell off," Mould says. "It's been our goal to get people back on plate."
He hasn't completely turned his back on the rock world. Mould released a guitar based solo album, "Life and Times," earlier this year and has shows lined up with noise merchants No Age and Dinosaur Jr. He's also playing the Treasure Island Music Festival next month.
So how do the two distinct worlds fit together?
"They really are the same thing, and I had no idea until the last couple of years," Mould says. "A lot of people that used to come to Hüsker and Sugar shows now come to Blowoff. I always suspected the hardcore scene had more homos than I thought. They were always in the crowd, and they were outnumbered. I have no idea how it ended up going full circle, but for that I'm really grateful." {lgsbox}

Depeche Mode: Gets happy after years of turmoil

Andy Fletcher was agitated about the dark forecast last week.
Fletcher was on the phone from New York City, a stop on Depeche Mode’s "Sounds of the Universe Tour."
The band was to accomplih at Lollapalooza in Chicago the next day, but the forecast projected thunderstorms.
"Wherever Depeche Mode plays, it rains," he mused.
For almost 30 years, Depeche Mode, which plays Superpages.com in Dallas on Saturday, has covered its minor-key tsunamis on conferences. Apart from Fletcher, lead singer songwriter Dave Gahan and songwriter-vocalist-guitarist-keyboardist Martin Gore round out the lineup of the groundbreaking electronica band.
The band started as an electronic pop quartet, but when Vince Clarke left in 1981 (and at last formed Erasure with Andy Bell) and Alan Wilder joined, the music biggest.
Over the course of several albums (1987’s Music for the Masses, 1990’s Violator and 1993’s Songs of Faith and Devotion), the band’s sound ecquired into a complex and layered soundscape of rhythms and sensual melodies, adorn on the songs Behind the Wheel, Halo, Personal Jesus, I Feel You and Walking in My Shoes.
Gore’s emotional lyrics center on euphoric and hurt relationships, redemption, masochism and addiction, including Strangelove, Never Let Me Down Again, Clean, Mercy in You and In Your Room.
Sometimes those dark clouds have hung over the band. In the mid 1990s, Wilder deviated the band, Gahan had a much advertised battle with heroin, Gore endured several seizures and Fletcher had a nervous breakdown.
After Gahan completed rehab for his cure addiction, the band regrouped and recorded 1997’s Ultra, which was followed by Exciter and Playing the Angel. On these three albums, as well as on the band’s 12th studio album, Sounds of the Universe, Depeche Mode has moved away from its trademark melodies to more minimalist electronica.
During the holocene telephone interview, Fletcher talked about the band’s sound, Gahan’s songwriting with Depeche Mode and the group’s new working vibe.

World in My Eyes is your best loved Depeche Mode song?

Yes. It encompresses what Depeche Mode is about, the ditty, the riff, the production, the words. When we play that song live, we sometimes look at each other and are like, 'What have we done here?’

Depeche Mode cancel performance here tonight

wearing more black, if you aren't already. Depeche Modehas canceled its concert here tonight at Cricket Wireless AmphitheatrE. The reason? Lead singer Dave Gahan is under doctor's orders to "continue on complete noisy rest."Depeche Mode also canceled its Aug. 12 Shoreline Amphitheatre appearance up near San Jose for the same reason. However, the English mope etronica band will perform its two sold out agreement at the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday and Monday, according to a press release from Live Nation, the tour's promoter. The group's most holocene gig that wasn't canceled was Aug. 10 at Seattle's Key Arena.Return for tonight's aborted gig here are available at point to buy. The San Diego date will not be rescheduled this year, according to Live Nation, which makes Gahan's quote "We hope to be back early to play for all our fans in the area" ring at least a little hollow (unless 2010 assuage as "soon").That leaves us with the question of the day: Are two sold out shows at the Holywood Bowl more important to Depeche Mode than a San Diego show for which tickets were still employable? Just amazement.