Customer Reviews

Dave Gahan - Live Monsters

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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!

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.

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.

I had the fortune to see the show, because I could watch it on the tv, before it was edited on DVD.
I think Dave is really happy and full with his solist album, he look very healthy, with his voice intact, and full of energy. Obviously his charisma makes him unique upon the stage, keeping the conection between him and the public all along the show.
The song versions of DM are more powerful and have the Dave's solist mark.
The sound and the image have an incredible quality, you can feel the big atmosphere of this show, that is why the DVD is recomendable in all ways, for the Dave Gahan's fans, and also for the Depeche Mode's ones, and for everyone who wants to know a really artist.

Dave Gahan i s good singer, but hi heard little hard. The perfomance is excellent

Just now that DM is kicking off the third leg of their "Touring the Angel" Tour .. I just got this DVD that at first glance wasn`t what I expected, don`t get me wrong... I am a big "synths" fan and the arrengements that Dave did to his songs as well as the DM favs have almost everything but synth sounds ( not too many ). Nevertheless I just found out that this dvd is a great gig in the Purest Classical Rock n Roll style .... The Highlights :"Hidden Houses","Question Of Time" and " I need you " that sound just great and " Stay" is an incredible song I think "Enjoy The silence" at the end should have been included as they performed it in almost all that 2003 tour... Great for Dave... his voice is at his best. The Extras : The documentary is OK although I think it could have been included the "Dirty sticky floors" video...

The man behind the camera is Anton Corbijn, so it can't be a bad film. The concert has a great atmosphere. I think the venue is right for Dave, the audience was great that night. The only thing I can remark as negative is the fact that 2 songs are missing: "Policy of truth" and "Enjoy the silence". It's unfortunate because the whole concert was very good and those 2 songs were performed just with basic equipment, just acoustic instruments. Besides that, this DVD is worth buying for all DM fans.

Glad Dave Gahan decided to tour strong for his debut album; Great concert, but sadly incomplete DVD - missing the final encore that was shown on the TV special. Still, I picked it up, if nothing else, to show my support for this great performance from an underrated musician.

FOR ME IS THE BEST OF WORLD, HAVE ONE SING BEATIFULL, YEAHHH, YOUR MIND AND HEART OF POETRY, IS SIMPLE, BUT YOUR VOICE IS EMOTION AND LOVE.