TD Garden crowd 'Just Can't Get Enough' of Depeche Mode show

BOSTON — Depeche Mode served up a glorious black celebration, which included the 1986 song by that same name, for its devoted Bay State area fanbase Tuesday night at the TD Garden, with a two-hour, 23-minute set that included a four-song encore.

With close to 45 years of existence and record sales of more than 100 million albums worldwide, Depeche Mode’s singer David Gahan and songwriter-multi-instrumentalist Martin Gore, who are now both in their early 60s, have survived changing musical trends, personnel changes, drug addiction and depression. And, even after the unexpected death of founding member Andrew Fletcher last year reduced them from a trio to a duo, Depeche Mode not only continues as a band but arguably sounds better than ever.

Barreling out on stage like he had been shot out of the cannon, Gahan captivated the crowd from the beginning. Despite the songs’ recurring images of disease, death, darkness, dysfunctional relationships, push-button deities and damnation, it was hard not to be seduced by Gahan's killer voice and Tasmanian devil-like stage antics.

With enough personal demons to fill a Dostoevsky novel, Gahan, whose voice sounded stronger, suppler and more seductive than ever, was working on all cylinders all night.

Depeche Mode opened with a double shot from their new album “Memento Mori.” “My Cosmos Is Mine” and “Wagging Tongue” had all the winning elements of classic Mode, including Gahan warning his would-be lover/tormentor not to mess up his already fragile mind or darken his existence with secrets and lies.

While Gahan was the consummate showman, Gore was the indispensable musician. Shifting from keyboards to guitars, Gore not only provided the backbone to these surging morality plays, his angelic, choirboy voice also added a sense of solace and sympathy to Gahan’s taunt and tortured delivery.

Proving that they didn’t need pyrotechnics or a state-of-the-art sphere to sell their music, Depeche Mode’s latest stage show was stripped down to the bare essentials with touring musicians Peter Gordeno on keyboards, bass guitar and backing vocals and Christian Eigner on drums providing ample musical support.

After the two opening tracks, Gahan and Gore kicked into hit-parade mode with choice cuts that included “Walking in My Shoes,” “It’s No Good,” “Policy of Truth” and the doom-and-gloomer “In Your Room.” Getting down to business, the two founding members shed their jackets to reveal two button-up vests, with Gahan’s being black over a button-up, long-sleeve black shirt and Gore’s being silver over a sleeveless top.

The 40-year-old “Everything Counts” produced the first of many crowd singalongs, while the sold-out audience clapped in unison with Gahan during “Precious.”

Showing that Gahan is not the only one in Depeche Mode who can sing, Gore took center stage (while Gahan went backstage to towel off and recharge his internal batteries) on two ‘80s stripped-down classics, “A Question of Lust” and “Strangelove.”

Gahan came back for “Ghosts Again,” the leadoff single off from “Memento Mori,” which featured a Fellini-inspired, black-and-white video of Gahan and Gore playing chess on a rooftop with the New York City skyline behind them.

Despite two false starts on “I Feel You” (apparently due to some mix-up with Gore’s guitar), the number erupted into a confident, industrial-strength arena rocker.

“World In My Eyes” wonderfully served as a celebration of the life and spirit of Fletcher. During the number, a black-and-white mugshot of the fallen founding member in his much younger days beared witness from the video screen behind his former bandmates. At the end of the song, Gahan shouted out, “Our friend and our partner, Mr. Andrew Fletcher.”

The celebration continued with, you guessed it, “Black Celebration,” which was served up piping hot with a bubbling cauldron of guggling synths and percolating percussion.

On “Stripped,” also from the 1986 album “Black Celebration,” Gahan was flicking his fingers like he was casting a spell on the audience.

The closing song of the main set, “Enjoy the Silence,” was thoroughly enjoyable and encapsulated all of Gahan’s dance moves, erupting into another massive crowd singalong and even giving Gore a case of happy feet.

The encore opened with the Kodak moment of Gahan and Gore delivering a low-key but very effective acoustic version of “Condemnation” from the end of the catwalk that reached out to the audience. After finishing the number, Gahan exclaimed, “Are you ready to have some fun?” He wasn’t kidding.

With shades of Freddie Mercury leading the crowd at Wembley, Gahan gestured to the crowd when and when not to cheer during the frenetic and playful “Just Can’t Get Enough” from 1981, which boasted an unabashed bouncy techno-pop groove that harkened back to the band's 1980s heyday.

Depeche Mode rewarded the crowd for their loyalty and adoration with the one-two punch of “Never Let Me Down Again,” which had the sheer power to make the mushroom fungal zombie hordes from HBO’s hit “The Last of Us” (which the song was prominently featured in) stop dead in their tracks.

During the divine, dial-up closer, “Personal Jesus,” which made salvation sound as easy as ordering a pizza from Domino’s, Gahan had the crowd reaching out to the rafters in the effort to touch faith as Depeche Mode delivered them from the evil of lifeless, ho-hum music.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Review: Depeche Mode rocks TD Garden in Boston