After a slight delay, Live Here Now is back up and running with the limited edition live CDs and downloads of their recordings of the Tour Of The Universe.
The downloadable version of the recent Tel Aviv show is now online, and the CDs will be shipping shortly. You can hear sound samples of all the tracks (including the crowd singing Happy Birthday to Dave) on the Tel Aviv page of the Live Here Now web site!
Also, watch our site for a special contest. News to come shortly...
Tune into the National Public Radio's World Cafe with host David Dye on July 10th, 2009, to hear a live session with Depeche Mode.
Links:
Find a program broadcast time
Listen Live - Worldwide (the WXPN/Philadelphia stream Monday through Friday, 2pm to 4pm Eastern Standard Time)
The following statement from Marek Lieberberg is in response to the secondary concert ticket market in Germany. Martin, Dave and Andy applaud Mareks efforts to fight ticket reselling.
We understand the frustration of fans with respect to the ticket black market, touts and unjustified surcharges. The Marek Lieberberg Konzertagentur has not only expressively warned the fans about so called secondary ticketing platforms, but also taken legal action against these.
At MLK's request the District Court of Munich prohibited the internet ticket portal Smartfox/Ventic from trading in tickets indirectly obtained through the MLK distribution system or through third parties. Due to the law and a leading decision of the Federal Court of Justice in Germany ticket trading on these platforms is only forbidden, if a dealer purchases tickets directly from the promoter's sales system while concealing his real intention to resell them commercially. "The decision is a first small step forward the long overdue regulation of ticket sales and the restriction of black market trading", commented Marek Lieberberg.
Despite this ruling numerous touts and non-authorized dubious dealers are continuing to obtain tickets, thus creating an artificial shortage and demanding excessive premiums. Unfortunately German courts have not realized the extent of illegal ticket trading and do not protect the customers from horrendous surcharges. The freedom of resale has been put above consumer protection.
While we continue in our quest, we urge fans to neglect inflated tickets from resellers. "The lesson will only be learnt, if the public rejects overpriced inventory!", Lieberberg said.
Only last week the added Depeche Mode arena show at the O2 World in Berlin was sold out within hours via the official ticketing company Eventim and its outlets. However, shortly afterwards numerous tickets resurfaced via private and commercial ticket traders. Marek Lieberberg Konzertagentur advises that there are still tickets available at face value via Eventim for several Depeche Mode stadium and indoor arena concerts in Germany.
The fans need to demonstrate that they are not willing to be forced into the secondary market and excessive surcharges. Thereby the touts will be stuck with their inventory and eventually have to lower their price to the original level or take a well deserved loss. "The legal battle of MLK against the secondary ticket market continues", Lieberberg said.
We are deeply saddened to hear the news of Kris Teugels' tragic passing at the Rock Werchter show on Sunday, the 21st of June. We would like to extend our deepest and sincerest condolences to his friends and family during this difficult time. He will be in our thoughts and prayers. Thank you to the fans for their outpouring of support.
To all our fans who held tickets to the recently cancelled shows,
We want to express our deep and heartfelt apology for having to cancel these shows and want to also provide a bit of explanation for why we are not able to replay these dates. We do not take cancelling shows lightly and understand your disappointment and frustration with the cancellations - we are disappointed as well.
After our successful Eastern and Southern European shows in 2006, we were excited to return to some of our favorite cities and to meet our devoted fans in new cities where we had never played. Once we realized we would not be able play the dates as originally scheduled, we started looking at all possible rescheduling options with our manager and booking agent. The delays in getting information to all of you during this period were due to our strong desire to fully explore all options, and the logistical difficulties of rescheduling shows on a tour of this size. All of this was made more difficult by the fact that the majority of the shows we were unable to play were stadiums, which meant that we could only replay the dates during the summer. As many of you are aware, we had already scheduled dates in North and South America following our current European tour, so our summer schedule is completely full. Unfortunately, in the end, we were only able to reschedule our missed shows that were to be played in indoor venues, as we could postpone these until our winter European tour leg. Although we were unable to reschedule the shows in Athens, Istanbul, Bucharest, Sofia, Belgrade, Warsaw, Riga and Vilnius, we will make it our priority to come back to these cities in the near future.
Again, we want to say thank you for your patience, understanding and support during this period. We apologize sincerely for not being able to perform for you as originally planned.
-Martin, Andy and Dave
Depeche Mode resumed their 'Tour of the Universe' on Monday June 8th in Leipzig, Germany following singer Dave Gahan's recent illness. They followed up their return with a spectacular 65,000 sell out success in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on June 10th, and their European summer tour will now continue as per the original schedule.
CANCELLED SHOWS
Unfortunately, Depeche Mode are not able to reschedule 8 of the cancelled shows due to scheduling conflicts. Despite efforts to find a window in which to reschedule these dates, it has proven unfeasible to do so.
The eight cancelled shows are:
May 12th - Athens Terra Vibe
May 14th - Istanbul Santral Istanbul
May 16th - Bucharest Parc Izvor
May 18th - Sofia Vasil Levski Stadium
May 20th - Belgrade USCE Park
May 23rd - Warsaw Gwardia Stadium
May 25th - Riga Skonto Stadium
May 27th - Vilnius Zalgirio Stadionas
Ticket holders should return their tickets to the point of purchase for a refund.
RESCHEDULED SHOWS
Depeche Mode have been able to reschedule the 4 shows listed below, which are indoor venues, for later in the year.
These rescheduled shows are:
May 21st - Zagreb Arena
May 30th - London O2 Arena
June 4th - Dusseldorf LTU Arena
June 5th - Dusseldorf LTU Arena
Information regarding the new, rescheduled dates will be announced shortly. More time is required to resolve venue availability and routing issues, before new dates can be announced. Ticket holders are advised to hold onto to their original tickets, which will be valid for the rescheduled shows.
THE BAND WOULD LIKE TO REASSURE FANS THAT THEY ARE 100% COMMITTED TO REPLAYING THESE 4 SHOWS AND ASK FANS TO BEAR WITH THEM A LITTLE LONGER UNTIL THE NEW DATES CAN BE RESOLVED.
Depeche Mode would like to apologise to their fans for any inconvenience this has caused and thank them for their support and patience during this time.
Also, as previously advised in a statement issued on May 28th: -
The shows below have already been rescheduled.
June 2nd - Hamburg HSH Nordbank Arena
This show has been rescheduled to July 1st, 2009. All original tickets remain valid for this new rescheduled date.
July 2nd - Bergen Koengen
The show has been rescheduled to January 28th, 2010 at the Bergen Vestlandshallen. All original tickets remain valid for this new rescheduled date.
Here is the music video for the second single from "Sounds Of The Universe".
The video was directed by Jonas & Francois, and features Romanian actress Maria Dinulescu.
The single for Peace will be released in Europe on June 15th. You can pre-order the single now via MuteBank.
Depeche Mode will be hosting a special "classics" episode of Subterranean on MTV2 (USA). The special show will air Sunday night/Monday morning, at 1am EST.
In the teaser clip to the left, the band discuss how they don't really jam on stage.
Sorry about the commercial at the head of the teaser clip. The advertising is beyond our control.
