Recording The Universe… so far so good! Volume 2

As we all know by know LiveHereNow and Depeche Mode set out to record and release a lot of shows this tour, and the fruits of that later is now being put under substantial scrutiny by yours truly, to guide you through the ‘musts’ and the ‘donts’. These recordings were originally reviewed more extensively in our forums, but here are a somewhat condensed summary. All these recordings are available from www.depechemodelive.com. Hit the jump for the second batch of reviews, which are NOT spoiler free.

June 23: Budapest


Budapest offers good sound and energy. The recording is especially noteworthy for it’s version “Master & Servant”, where Dave completely forgets the lyrics for most of them song, and only gets back into it during the last quarter or so of the song. Makes for a fun listen.
Five out of six!



June 25: Prague


A little on the roomy side, this recording seems to suffer a little bit from the grueling acoustics of the venue. Still a solid show, and decent crowd makes for a good listening experience. Especially Martin’s performance of “Little Soul” is just astonishing. The crowd remains respectfully quiet during the performance, so you can hear even the slightest details in the performance. Fantastic.
Four out of six!



June 27: Paris


One of the biggest shows on the tour, and one of the best recordings too. The vocals are nicely upfront and center in the mix, and the drums banging throughout the show. “In Your Room” and “Fly On The Windscreen” provides this recordings überly delish moments. This is a must have.
Five plus out of six!



June 28: Nancy


The crowd on this one sounds a little sleepy, and the vocals come over a little sharp. But we’re nitpicking here. All in all good, but not amazing.
Four out of six!



June 30: Copenhagen


Hands down the loudest crowd on any of the LiveHereNow recordings from this tour. Loud crowds usually come at a heavy price, but not here. The drums are still tight, and vocals fairly clear in the mix. The highlight is the sing-a-longs on “A Question Of Time” and “Enjoy The Silence”, where the crowd is simply on fire. If you’re into loud audiences, this recording is a must have!!
Five out of six!



July 1: Hamburg


Not only the best show of the European tour, but also the best recording. Everything just comes together to form two discs of Live Mode perfection. The band is on fire, the crowd is on fire, the mix is absolutely spot on throughout and it sends shivers down my spine listening to it. Simply fantastic. No Mode collection is complete without it.
Six out of six!



July 3: Arvika


LiveHereNow are hitting their stride now. Another superb recording. It’s more “close” sounding than Hamburg and even more so than Copenhagen, but it still shows off the energy of the crowd very well. For people who prefer pristine recordings of the on-stage performance over loud audiences, this is the one to get. Fantastic. However, it’s a festival appearance, and the set is a little shorter than normally. Still
Five plus out of six!



July 6: Carcasonne


This is the odd one out in a long line of excellent recordings. There’s something slightly off here, but it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what. It’s a little too roomy, the crowd seems boring, the vocals are a little sharp and it’s just a tad too rumbling in parts.
A big three out of six!



July 8: Valladolid


There’s a wonderful punch to the drums on this one. Best snare sound so far. Vocals are a little lost in parts. Other than that, it’s good. Good crowd, but hardly surprising – this is Spain after all. Good show too, but there are definite signs of tour fatigue creeping in here. The end of the European leg is in sight, and it seems they can’t wait to get there. The worst is Dave getting lost in the mix on “In Chains”, but that’s a minor gripe really. Other than that this is a solid recording that is just shy of being fantastic for whatever reason.
Five plus out of six!



July 9: Bilbao


This recording is very much like the one from Arvika in many ways. For someone like me who’d rather hear the band than the crowd, this is bordering on pure perfection. Nice and crisp mix with everything being nicely defined from the word ‘go’. Never gets roomy or rumbling. A really good festival crowd. And probably one the best sing-a-longs at the end of “Peace”.
Five out of six!