Depeche Mode w/ Young Fathers @ Rogers Place (Edmonton) - November 21, 2023 - Photo Gallery + Show Write-Up

Photos by John Weed Photo Video & Review by Caroline Prins

Young Fathers from Edinburgh, Scotland kicked off Tuesday night’s massive dance party with tribal panache in Edmonton at Roger’s Place, starting with ‘Wow’’ singing ‘what a time to be alive!’ off of Cocoa Sugar, and as the crowd rolled in they amped it up with a couple more fast ones - ‘Get up’ & ‘Rain or Shine’ urging us to ‘come here and do the right thing, get up and have a party!!!’ Playing just one number off their new album Heavy Heavy, “I saw” is an infectiously catchy call to perseverance. 

Their music can’t be easily defined but surely that’s their mission; inspired by punk, rap, soul, trip hop and moody pop, the rants and tribal dance gyrations of Kayus Bankole, distortion and smooth vocals by Graham ‘G’ Hastings paired with the sweet voice of Alloysious Massaquoi create a collective of hyper energy focused on elevating electronica to build community and in doing so primed the crowd perfectly for the evening’s headliners, definitely left us wanting more. 

Depeche Mode were ushered in with a very loud heart beat, the first song ‘My Cosmos is Mine’ is the first song on their latest album; the band appeared on the monumental stage anchored with a massive backdrop emblazoned with ‘M’ for Memento Mori; the album released in March. The 4 musicians positioned themselves in an ‘M’ configuration - with a gaping void in the spot where founding member/manager/former keyboardist “Fletch’ would have been; this being the first tour without Andy Fletcher, who shuffled off this mortal coil last year at the age of 60. His absence is strongly missed by the remaining band members, and deserving of the tribute of an utterly blank last side on the blood-red vinyl double album. 

The real time visuals overlaid in the gigantic backdrop were mesmerising and beautifully complimented the lead singer, Dave Gahan; as he strutted, pirouetted and posed himself with pop-star authority all around the stage, teasing and appeasing the crowd with his smooth voice which hammered out almost two dozen of their songs in the 2+ hour set. Gahan orchestrated the crowd easily while Martin Gore commanded attention with his melodic voice, gentle demeanour and intriguing style as an adept multi instrumentalist. A tres cool Peter Gordino accompanies the band on this tour, playing bass and synthesizers and veteran drummer and keyboardist, Christian Eigner put on a phenomenal performance without a hitch.


This was not a greatest hits tour for the band, in fact they only included a handful of songs dating back to the early 1980’s, saving most of the classics for last, which also rank as some of their best. The night turned into a sing along, with plenty of aging new-wavy hipsters singing songs from Black Celebration, Music for the Masses and Violator throwbacks to the era of when Flashbacks was the best dance club in the city. ‘Enjoy the Silence’ wrapped up the incredible 2 hour set but It did not end there, as the amped up crowed prompted a final encore with thousands of cheers and phone flashlight beacons (instead of the age old tradition of swaying Bic lighters) and the band finished the night with some classics including a gorgeous duet of “Waiting for the Night” with Gahan and Gore and the anthemic “Personal Jesus”. 


The meaning behind ‘Memento Mori’ is ‘remember you must die’ but after being part of such an electric night it’s evident we are all very much happy to be alive.

Depeche Mode

Young Fathers