because the have truly moved on from that sound. (quite frankly i’m not a fan of most of their new stuff). they still perform well. their new material is just bad cyber rock. nothing memorable. they made the change over during a brief summer tour while i was in college. they rocked out like a metal band and they haven’t been the same since. i’ve been with them since the beginning (even saw a stop on 101) and i’ll ALWAYS catch their shows to see anton corbjin’s staging (which is right up there with es devlin) too much guitar and way too much live drums. but hey… i’m old. if you have the chance to see them live DO IT! enjoy!
The fans do not need the song, I suppose. They have many more much better ones. And fans are usually those who come to the concerts. I can live without Personal Jesus. :-)
While I totally understand that having seen Depeche multiple times (and again in Vegas this Thursday), there are legions of new Depeche fans and also longtime fans who have never seen them live who would be very disappointed if they didn't play it. They have to play it. Same goes for about a half dozen DM songs. At least it's at the end of the show, so if you don't want to hear it, you can beat the crowds and the traffic and head out early.
