 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Touring the Angel" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(June 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Tour byDepeche Mode | |
 Depeche Mode performing at the O2 Wireless Festival in London on 25 June 2006. | |
| Associated album | Playing the Angel |
|---|---|
| Start date | 28 October 2005 |
| End date | 1 August 2006 |
| Legs | 4 |
| No. of shows |
|
| Depeche Mode concert chronology | |
| |
Touring the Angel was a 2005–06concert tour by Englishelectronic groupDepeche Mode in support of the act's 11th studio album,Playing the Angel, which was released in October 2005.
The tour, which was officially announced in June 2005 in Düsseldorf, Germany, kicked off in October with a warm-up show in New York City called "Starting the Angel". It encompassed two continents, Europe and North America, with two legs between each.
The concerts held inAssago, nearMilan, Italy were filmed and later released on a DVD release entitledTouring the Angel: Live in Milan.
The stage set, which was designed byAnton Corbijn,[1] was elaborate compared to previous Depeche Mode tours. It consisted of specially constructed pods to contain the act'sMIDI controllers. Hidden screens at the rear of the stage, which displayed distorted images of the band members and movies related to the song being performed, were unveiled midway during the group's performance. These screens were accompanied by a large grey ball-shaped prop on the left of the stage, which contained an additional screen as well as aLED display which emitted various messages.
The tour began in late October 2005 with a special rehearsal show in New York City, dubbed "Starting the Angel". The date was exclusive to invited guests, most of whom won access through radio station and internet contests. The first full-fledged show was inTampa, Florida in early November, kicking off a six-week North American leg. The tour was supposed to begin inSunrise, Florida, but that date was cancelled due to theafter-effects of Hurricane Wilma,[2] which had spread across southern Florida a week prior to the show. The first leg ultimately concluded mid-December at the annualAlmost Acoustic Christmas show, organised by radio station KROQ, inUniversal City, California. The unique performance saw the band play a selection of songs in a stripped-down acoustic set.
In January 2006, the group kicked off an extensive tour of Europe, beginning inDresden, Germany. The leg lasted twelve weeks and included multiple shows in a number of cities. It also saw the addition of "Leave in Silence" in the group's setlists, which had not been performed live since theBlack Celebration Tour in 1986. The 1984 song "Lie to Me" was considered for inclusion on the tour, although it was never played live.[3] The tour eventually finished in early April with two dates in London; the band were the first act to perform in the newly refurbishedWembley Arena.[4]
In April 2006, the group returned to North America for a second round of shows, taking place in a mixture of indoor and outdoor venues. The leg began inMountain View, California, followed by an appearance at theCoachella Valley Music and Arts Festival inIndio, California.[5]
In May 2006, the tour was slightly disrupted when lead singerDave Gahan developedlaryngitis during the group's performance at theStarlight Theatre inKansas City, Missouri. Six tracks into the concert, Gahan left the stage forMartin Gore to begin his solo set performance, which was promptly extended by four additional songs until Gahan's condition was clarified. The show was officially cut and the concert to be held the following night inChicago was cancelled. A press release regarding the cancellations stated that Gahan's voice was "challenged throughout the concert by the unusually cold temperatures at the venue" as well as a result of "coming off three concerts in Mexico."[6] No make-up date was announced to compensate for the axed performance in Kansas City. The tour resumed inWantagh, New York and concluded later in the month inBristow, Virginia.
In June 2006, the group began a second leg in Europe. All shows, apart from one inDublin, were held outdoors. A number of dates were festival appearances, from theHeineken Jammin' Festival in Italy to theBenicàssim Festival in Spain. The leg kicked off inNuremberg, Germany at theRock im Park Festival.
Two dates on this leg were cancelled. A show to be held inLisbon was pulled after it was claimed that the organisation promoting the shows had failed to pay suppliers' bills.[7] Another date, to be held inTel Aviv,Israel, was cancelled due to theSecond Lebanon War.[8] It was stated that the group's technical support team refused to travel to the region, citing "security fears".[9] The show was to be their first ever in Israel, as well as the sole Asian performance and final date of the entire tour. The trek instead culminated inAthens atTerra Vibe Park in early August, after nine months and 124 shows. In total, the band played to more than 2.8 million people across 32 countries.[10] The group eventually performed in Israel onTour of the Universe in 2009.
Speaking about the tour, Gahan praised it as "probably the most enjoyable, rewarding live show we've ever done. The new material was just waiting to be played live. It took on a life of its own. With the energy of the crowds, it just came to life."[11]
Audio recordings of concerts on Touring the Angel were made available through the band's website on double CD format or as a digital download under the generic nameRecording the Angel. All dates on the second legs of North America and Europe, excluding the shows in Kansas City,Kristiansand andBenicàssim, were released.
In September 2006, a live DVD of the group's concerts at theFila Forum in Milan, Italy was released, entitledTouring the Angel: Live in Milan. The video was filmed and directed byBlue Leach.
Set list for rehearsal shows for fans
| Set list for KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas
|
|
|
