Strangelove at Grapefest
Show date September 15, 2017. Grapefest, Grapevine Tx.
Ahhh....Strangelove. Widely regarded as the best Depeche Mode tribute band in existence, and in my opinion one of the best tribute bands on the planet. Freddie Morales has Dave's moves down to a science. Brent Meyer has Martin Gore's Grestch Double Anniversary Green Knight guitar. They look like them. They sound like them. They are professional performers that give one hell of a show with well done screen projections, great set lists consisting of songs that Depeche will probably never play live (Freestate please?), ridiculously good costumes and a couple of shows ago right after the new single Going Backwards was released, they actually played it. I was super impressed.
If you know me, you know that Depeche Mode is my favorite band on the planet, and has been for close to 30 years. I am an unapologetic Devotee. A member of the Black Swarm. A Modie. After this show, I've seen Strangelove 8 times. That's 1 time more than I've seen actual Depeche Mode...until next week that is 😉
Strangelove is on my (rather short surprisingly) must-see list. I won't miss a show that comes to DFW ever, if I can help it at all, and I haven't missed one to my knowledge since January 2015.
I simply cannot say enough good things about these guys. I feel like I know them personally. They are so sweet and nice and they are great with their fans. If obtaining actual Depeche Mode tickets is out of your reach for some reason (or even if they aren't and you just haven't seen them yet), I highly recommend going to see Strangelove play. They are *almost* better than the real thing.
One of my favorite things though about going to a Strangelove show is hanging with my Modies. There is a big group of us in Dallas that get together for various events, listening parties and concerts. The core group of us met back in 1998, and we've kept in touch and added other fan friends throughout the years. Experiencing a concert is great, and I have gone to plenty by myself, but sharing the experience with fans who are as passionate as I am is one of the things in my life that makes me the happiest. I look forward to more.
I was really surprised to see that Strangelove was playing Grapefest....having played here so recently at the end of July. I've never been to Grapefest before (I don't care for wine), so I got there early to check the place out. I got to hang with an old friend that I hadn't seen in forever, and this was also the first time that I've ever attended a show of theirs that was outside. The venue itself was the "Main Stage". The crowd was loosely packed (read: mostly comfortable) and we had a nice breeze. The guys played for only an hour and a half as opposed to their usual 2+ hour set, but I'll take what I can get.
I am an avowed Concert Junkie, however I rarely find myself with the privilege of being in the front row. Most of the time I don't bother, and the times I do try it's exceedingly difficult, or prohibitively expensive. This time however, because of the unusual venue and the fact that I would say most of the crowd were not there to see them exclusively (like I was), it was really easy to get to the front. However I discovered that there were good and bad things about this. Maybe other front row veterans can attest....the front row is rife with assholes. Several times I had people barrel right through the crowd, literally step right in front of me and take my spot. Maybe I'm just too nice because I wouldn't dream of doing this to someone who was already there (and maybe this is why I have trouble getting to the front row). It was super annoying! I will push my way through a crowd if I have to to get to a spot I need to be in, for example to get back to my group from a trip to the bathroom, but I really try not to stand in front of a shorter person, or just forcibly plant myself and take someone else's spot. But I digress. I don't want to dwell on any negativity.
Were you at this show? What did you think?
Here is their:
YouTube
I wasn't able to find any video of this show, but here is a YouTuber who recorded Fly on the Windscreen in Hollywood in 2016. If you have video of this Grapevine show that you would like me to publish here, let me know via the contact form!
Finally, here are my photos! Click one of them for a slideshow of larger photos. Enjoy!
One final note...this lady was up in the front row with us dancing her butt off. I thought that was the best thing ever. You are never too old to enjoy yourself 💗
