Search - Dave Gahan - Live Monsters on DVD

Missing Policy of Truth & Enjoy The Silence

Mr. | USA | 03/05/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Dave Gahan and Martin Gore's solo tours have had a lot of mixed reactions. What does it all mean? Just something each of them felt the need to do? Only time will tell. Unlike Martin, who played only 8 dates for his Counterfeit 2 tour, Dave's is the complete opposite in comparison, with many many concert dates all over the world. Live Monsters gives us the show Dave did in Paris, back on July 5th, 2003. This show was later shown on PayPerView. Dave of course is the center of attention and he loves every minute of it. I think it's safe to say, that although he does perform a bunch of Depeche Mode songs, this is his interpretation of where he wants to move musically as a performer, with a heavy blues influence and lighter softer songwriting. Sure he's no Martin Gore when it comes to writing songs, but Martin's been doing this professionally for more than twenty years now, and Dave's just started. A little slack, if you please. What really bothers me about this DVD release is that it is an incomplete concert. After Never Let Me Down Again is performed, Dave and company return for two additional encores: Policy of Truth and Enjoy The Silence, both acoustic. Now, truth be told, Policy of Truth was only performed about halfway (first two versus) and then ended abruptly for some strange reason. Enjoy The Silence was performed all the way and was a really good performance. As the crowd sings back to Dave, "All I ever wanted! All I ever needed is here! In my arms!", Dave looks back at them and says, "Who, me?! Oui?!" Just pure Dave Gahan. And all this is missing on Live Monsters. I had assumed from the Exciter Live In Paris DVD that the days of incomplete concerts released on home video were over. I guess I was wrong. The extra features are nice but I don't care how much bonus material you put on here, it means nothing without a complete concert. It shouldn't have to be this way. On the plus side, at least Mute Records released a Dave Gahan concert officially. If only they'd do the same for Martin Gore. A bonus DVD of five live tracks from Martin's Counterfeit 2 concert in Milan, Italy was inluded with the Loverman CD single in the EU, but Martin performed eighteen songs that night. Fans deserve much better than this and Mute Records needs to start coming through more often. If you feel the same way, voice your opinion here or write to Mute Records directly. Stay Devoted!"

No paper tiger

psychomuse | 12/20/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ok, you really had to be there. The DVD falls short of the experience (but don't they all?). I saw Dave a month after this was filmed and it was truly an inspiring show. I am one who was more than impressed and surprised by Dave's solo output. Think of this DVD as a "Catching Up With" Dave Gahan. If you missed his tour, this will be your update.

Actually, seeing Depeche Mode live is basically watching a couple of guys standing behind Gahan, pretending to play keyboards to off-stage sequencers and tapes. Dave and band are fully alive here, playing and swaying and rocking. His songs are so good that it finally convinced Martin to give Dave some space on DM's latest (and awesome) work- Playing the Angel. And after hearing the new DM Gahan-penned tracks, there's no doubt that Gahan has earned that respect and is now more than just a voice for Gore's creativity. Overall, any DM fan will appreciate this work and be glad to include it in the collection. Easily worth the dineros!"

Average but not great

Travis M. Owens | Syracuse, NY USA | 04/19/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I did not like the 'Paper Monsters' that much except for just the song 'Bitter Apple' which I thought was phenominal. It took 3 seperate times at the music store considering buying this album before I just did it as I figure with a live version of bitter apple and an accoustic version, it might be worth the money. As well as assuming a live playing of the other songs might change my opinions on his other songs. Unfortunetly I'm not impressed with the DVD. It is well filmed but the 3 accoustic tracks have severe camera shaking problems and sometimes aren't even pointing at the band, but at the floor or ceiling.If you really liked 'Paper Monsters' then you will like this DVD but if you were only so-so about the album or didn't like it very much you will NOT enjoy this DVD.Don't say I didn't give Gahan a fair chance as I bought the album AND the DVD and still don't like his solo work."

Ok...but could be better.

H. Wang | New York, NY USA | 07/22/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I was one of the first people who tried to get his hands on David Gahan's solo CD. I thought his new sound was decent, and there were a few songs on that album that I did enjoy, such as Bitter Apple and Dirty Sticky Floors. I gave the DVD a shot, especially since I was curious to see his new take on old DM classics (Walking in My Shoes is one of my favorite DM songs).

Overall I wasn't that disappointed, but I definitely felt that it could have been a lot better. I didn't have an issue with the feel of the music, since I didn't go into it expecting it to be another live DM concert. The camerawork was acceptable, but there were some very strange angles in shots during certain songs. I also felt that the audio quality of the disk was poor. The mix was very muddy and the vocals were exceptionally loud at times versus the other instruments ... and vice versa. Unfortunately, this rough mix took some of the sublety away from his softer songs.

As for the DM songs, they were ok, but honestly sounded more like David Gahan fronting a bad DM cover band. I knew that he wanted to add a new dimension, a more edgy and bluesy dimension to the DM cuts, but for me, they sounded too familiar to be really different. And it's disappointing that the acoustic versions of Policy of Truth and Enjoy the Silence were omitted from the DVD. It would have been nice to hear Enjoy the Silence in the way that Martin Gore had originally conceived it (as an acoustic song)...before Alan Wilder added the trademark beat and rhythm that we know today (though I believe there is an acoustic version of ETS somewhere). A Question of Time, Walking in My Shoes, Personal Jesus, I Feel You and Never Let Me Down Again were generally ok for me, but I was expecting something different, something more.

The extras on the DVD are so-so. The only thing I found was pretty decent were the 3 extra acoustic cuts (for a radio promo thing that Dave & co. were doing) included. Dirty Sticky Floors actually sounded better acoustically to me... Overall it's a so so investment. I wouldn't recommend it anyone other than die-hard Dave fans."