Touring the Angel

Touring the Angel is Depeche Mode's October 2005 to April 2006 world tour, featuring concerts spanning over 20 countries and featuring hits from their entire career. It promotes their 2005 album, Playing the Angel.

Touring the Angel was officially announced in Düsseldorf, Germany on June 16, 2005, however only European dates were announced. They went on sale soon afterwards, and most dates, especially in Germany, sold out quickly, despite the concerts not happening there for at least a half a year. The American dates weren't announced until mid-September.

Touring the Angel officially began November 3rd, 2005 in St. Petersburg, Florida. It was supposed to start in Ft. Lauderdale, the day before, but was cancelled due to the after-effects of Hurricane Wilma.

Also, in New York City on October 28, the band played a special rehearsal show for invited guests only, normally winners of worldwide radio station contests. It was nicknamed "Starting the Angel".

The American concerts were mostly stadiums with floor seating. However, the Las Vegas, Nevada and Atlantic City, New Jersey concerts were at small clubs with General Admission standing. However, they were very expensive, and obviously, sold out on day one. Originally, there were only one Los Angeles and New York City shows, but they too, sold out quickly (along with San Diego), so two additional Southern California dates were added, along with another New York date.

The American leg of the tour is currently the shortest Depeche Mode American leg in recent times.

Set

The set is very innovative compared to other Depeche Mode sets. Basically, the keyboards were put in alien-like pods which had flashing lights that could do various colors. At the left, there was also a big gray ball, with various words on it ("Sex", "Pain", "Angel" among others), some of which would light up depending on the song. In the middle of the ball was a black bar, which flashed various words and pictures, depending on the song.

There was also a curtain at the right with the Feather Creature from the Playing the Angel cover. At the beginning of "John the Revelator" the curtain is dropped. Replacing it are three screens, which featured distorted images of the band's current movements. Sometimes they were placed with movies, drawings, or pictures. Eventually, there were four screens, then five, and finally six.

At the very left was a small alien pod and in front of the pod was a microphone. Normally, Martin Gore would stand in front of the microphone and play the guitar and perform backup vocals, but for the more electronic songs, he'd get behind the small pod and play keyboards.

To the right of the small pod was the drum set, played by Christian Eigner. To the right of that was a big alien pod, featuring Peter Gordeno. To the right of that was another pod, played by band member Andrew Fletcher. In the center was a solo mic, played by lead singer David Gahan, although sometimes Martin Gore would perform songs, and he'd get the center.

The set was designed by Anton Corbijn.

Current Dates

North America (United States & Canada)

Date	City	Venue	Setlist Notes
October 28 2005	New York City, New York	Bowery Ballroom	The final five "Encore" songs were not played. Instead the main set ended at "Personal Jesus" and "Enjoy the Silence" was the encore.
November 3 2005	St. Petersburg, Florida	St. Pete Times Forum	The beginning of "Everything Counts" was messed up, and had to be restarted.
November 5 2005	Atlanta, Georgia	Gwinnett Center	The beginning of "I Want It All" was messed up, and had to be restarted.
November 7 2005	Houston, Texas	Toyota Center	-
November 8 2005	Dallas, Texas	American Airlines Arena	-
November 9 2005	San Antonio, Texas	SBC Center	-
November 11 2005	Denver, Colorado	Magness Arena	-
November 12 2005	Salt Lake City, Utah	E Center	-
November 15 2005	Vancouver, British Columbia	GM Place	-
November 16 2005	Seattle, Washington	Key Arena	-
November 18 2005	San Jose, California	HP Pavilion	-
November 19 2005	San Diego, California	iPayOne Center	-
November 21 2005	Los Angeles, California	Staples Center	-
November 22 2005	Los Angeles, California	Staples Center	-
November 23 2005	Anaheim, California	Arrowhead Pond	-
November 25 2005	Phoenix, Arizona	Glendale Arena	-
November 26 2005	Las Vegas, Nevada	The Joint	-
November 29 2005	Chicago, Illinois	Allstate Arena	-
November 30 2005	Detroit, Michigan	The Palace of Auburn Hills	-
December 1 2005	Toronto, Ontario	Air Canada Centre	-
December 3 2005	Atlantic City, New Jersey	Borgota	-
December 4 2005	Montreal, Quebec	Bell Centre	-
December 7 2005	New York City, New York	Madison Square Garden	-
December 8 2005	New York City, New York	Madison Square Garden	-
December 9 2005	Fairfax, Virginia	Patriot Center	-
December 11 2005	Universal City, California	Gibson Amphitheatre	"KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas"

• The Bravery is the intro act for November 3rd through November 12th, and December 3rd through December 9th.
• The Raveonettes is the intro act for November 15th through December 1st.

Europe

Date	City	Venue	Notes
13 January 2006	Dresden, Germany	Messehalle	-
15 January 2006	Hamburg, Germany	Color Line Arena	-
16 January 2006	Hamburg, Germany	Color Line Arena	-
18 January 2006	Berlin, Germany	Velodrom	-
20 January 2006	Dusseldorf, Germany	LTU Arena	-
21 January 2006	Dusseldorf, Germany	LTU Arena	-
23 January 2006	Prague, Czech Republic	Sazka Arena	-
24 January 2006	Erfurt, Germany	Messehalle	-
26 January 2006	Frankfurt, Germany	Festhalle	-
29 January 2006	Antwerp, Belgium	Sports Paleis	-
31 January 2006	Geneva, Switzerland	Arena	-
1 February 2006	Marseille, France	Le Dome	-
3 February 2006	Toulouse, France	Zenith	-
4 February 2006	Lyon, France	Tony Garnier	-
6 February 2006	Madrid, Spain	Palacio Deportes	-
7 February 2006	Madrid, Spain	Palacio Deportes	-
8 February 2006	Lisbon, Portugal	Pavilhao Atlantico	-
10 February 2006	Barcelona, Spain	Palau Sant Jordi	-
11 February 2006	Barcelona, Spain	Palau Sant Jordi	-
14 February 2006	Munich, Germany	Olympiahalle	-
15 February 2006	Munich, Germany	Olympiahalle	-
16 February 2006	Vienna, Austria	Stadthalle	-
18 February 2006	Milan, Italy	Forum	-
19 February 2006	Milan, Italy	Forum	-
21 February 2006	Paris, France	Bercy	-
22 February 2006	Paris, France	Bercy	-
23 February 2006	Paris, France	Bercy	-
25 February 2006	Copenhagen, Denmark	Parken Stadium	-
26 February 2006	Gothenburg, Sweden	Scandinavium	-
28 February 2006	Oslo, Norway	Spektrum	-
1 March 2006	Stockholm, Sweden	Globen	-
3 March 2006	St. Petersburg, Russia	SKK	-
4 March 2006	Moscow, Russia	Luzhniki Sports Palace	-
6 March 2006	Helsinki, Finland	Hartwall Arena	-
9 March 2006	Stuttgart, Germany	Schleyerhalle	-
10 March 2006	Friedrichshafen, Germany	Messehalle	-
11 March 2006	Mannheim, Germany	SAP Arena	-
13 March 2006	Graz, Austria	Stadthalle	-
14 March 2006	Katowice, Poland	Spodek	-
16 March 2006	Tallinn, Estonia	Saku Arena	-
17 March 2006	Riga, Latvia	Arena Riga	-
18 March 2006	Vilnius, Lithuania	Siemens Arena	-
21 March 2006	Budapest, Hungary	Papp Laszlo Arena	-
22 March 2006	Zagreb, Croatia	Dom Sportova 1	-
24 March 2006	Amnéville, France	Le Galaxie	-
25 March 2006	Douai, France	Gayant Expo	-
26 March 2006	Rotterdam, Holland	The Ahoy	-
28 March 2006	Zurich, Switzerland	Hallenstadion	-
30 March 2006	Manchester, England	MEN Arena	-
31 March 2006	Manchester, England	NEC	-
2 April 2006	Wembley, England	Wembley Arena	-
3 April 2006	Wembley, England	Wembley Arena	-
June 2006	Germany	n/a	Rock Am Ring Festival, Unconfirmed

Latin America

Date	City	Venue	Notes
April 30 2006	Mexico City, Mexico	Sports Palace	Unconfirmed
2006	Rio De Janeiro, Brazil	Unknown	Unconfirmed
2006	Sao Paulo, Brazil	Unknown	Unconfirmed

Setlist

There were seven songs from the album it promotes, Playing the Angel. Every other song was a single, which has caused some criticism from fans who wanted more cult classics. Also to note, only one song from their previous albums Exciter and Ultra were played each.

The setlist spanned songs from their 1981 debut Speak and Spell to the present, and included at least one song from each album, except A Broken Frame which had none.

Normally, the setlist for Depeche Mode shows are consistent. However, sometimes songs are switched with other songs, usually the Martin Gore vocal songs. At the moment though, the setlist has been the same, and this is the general setlist. Exceptions are noted above in "Setlist Notes". All songs are sung by David Gahan unless otherwise noted.

1. I Want It All [Interlude] (Instrumental Intro)
2. A Pain That I'm Used To
3. John the Revelator
4. A Question of Time
5. Policy of Truth
6. Precious
7. Walking in My Shoes
8. Suffer Well*
9. Damaged People (sung by Martin Gore)
10. Home (sung by Martin Gore, the beginning sounds like the "Air Around the Golf" Mix)
11. I Want It All*
12. The Sinner In Me
13. I Feel You
14. Behind the Wheel
15. World in My Eyes
16. Personal Jesus
17. Enjoy the Silence

Encore 1

1. Somebody (sung by Martin Gore)
2. Just Can't Get Enough**
3. Everything Counts

Encore 2

1. Never Let Me Down Again
2. Goodnight Lovers (only non Playing the Angel song to have it's live debut at Touring the Angel)

• All songs written by Martin Gore, except those with a * next to it, which were written by David Gahan, and ** which were written by Vince Clarke.

Setlist Stats

The following (except "Previous Tour", "Biggest Revival", "Most recent" and "Debut") are judging from the main setlist. If there are songs that were played that were not on the setlist, then they are not included except in (Parenthesses).

• Songs from Playing the Angel: 7
• Songs from Exciter: 1
• Songs from Ultra: 1
• Songs from Songs of Faith and Devotion: 2
• Songs from Violator: 4
• Songs from Music for the Masses: 2
• Songs from Black Celebration: 1
• Songs from Some Great Reward: 1
• Songs from Construction Time Again: 1
• Songs from A Broken Frame: 0
• Songs from Speak and Spell: 1
• Songs not from a studio album: 0
• Songs played at the Exciter Tour: 6
• Total songs (not including intro): 21
• Biggest revival: "Everything Counts", not played since 1994. (11 years)
• Most recent non-current-album song: "Goodnight Lovers"
• Non-Current-Album debut: "Goodnight Lovers"

Performers

Depeche Mode

• David Gahan - Lead vocals
• Martin Gore - Guitar, Keyboards, Backup vocals, Lead vocals
• Andrew Fletcher - Keyboards

Assistance

• Peter Gordeno - Keyboards
• Christian Eigner - Drums

Links

Depeche Mode Tours
"Touring the Angel" information from the official Depeche Mode Website Fan reviews for "Touring the Angel"
Purchase tickets for the remaining American dates