Smuggled Sounds: Depeche Mode - Touring the Angel

Depeche2 On October 17, 2005, Depeche Mode released their long awaited 11th studio album Playing the Angel and received very good reviews. Many fans felt this album was their true return to form after Wilder departed.

Touring the Angel was Depeche Mode's October 2005 to August 2006 world tour, featuring concerts spanning over 20 countries and featuring hits from their entire career. It promotes their 2005 album, Playing the Angel.

Touring the Angel was officially announced in Düsseldorf, Germany on June 16, 2005, however only European dates were announced. They went on sale soon afterwards, and most dates, especially in Germany, sold out quickly, despite the concerts not happening there for at least a half a year. The American dates weren't announced until mid-September.

Touring the Angel officially began November 3rd, 2005 in Tampa, Florida. It was supposed to start in Ft. Lauderdale, the day before, but was cancelled due to the after-effects of Hurricane Wilma. The last show before the "Open Air" leg was at the Wembley Arena in London, England on April 3, 2006.

Also, in New York City on October 28, 2005, the band played a special rehearsal show for invited guests only, mostly winners of worldwide radio station and Depeche1 internet contests. It was nicknamed "Starting the Angel".

The American concerts were mostly stadiums with floor seating. However, the Las Vegas, Nevada and Atlantic City, New Jersey concerts were at small clubs with General Admission standing. However, they were very expensive, and obviously, sold out on day one. Originally, there were only one Los Angeles and New York City shows, but they too, sold out quickly (along with San Diego), so two additional Southern California dates were added, along with another New York date.

The band also had a Summer tour, called the "Open Air" leg of "Touring the Angel", since most of the venues are outdoors. It included an extended Europe leg, new American dates, and Latin America. The tour started off bumpy with Dave Gahan getting sick at the Kansas City show, and the show was cut in half, which was followed by a cancellation of the following day's Chicago show. This came after a show scheduled in El Paso, Texas was cancelled months prior to the show because of a "scheduling conflict". The show also hit a sad Depeche3 end, as the fourth to last show in Lisbon, Portugal was cancelled due to problems with the promoter. The final show was supposed to take place in Tel Aviv, Israel and was going to be the first show in Asia in over a decade and the first in Israel, but was cancelled due to the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. The tour included several festivals. The setlist was not be the same as the "Touring the Angel" setlist. The "Open Air" legs started in Mountain View, California (in the San Francisco Bay Area) on April 27, 2006 and ended in Athens, Greece on August 1, 2006