"Hide what you have to hide and tell what you have to tell."

Concert going has always been a passion of mine and when I had the chance to combine my other big passion, writing, along with it, it was a natural fit.

Because of my writing I have gotten to see a ton of bands I might not have otherwise over the last few years and there are very few of my favorite bands/musicians that I have not gotten to see at one time or another.

Earlier this summer I was able to scratch Metallica off of that list and on Thursday, I finally got a chance to see the legendary Depeche Mode when they kicked off their U.S. tour here in Michigan at Pine Knob (DTE).

The long wait was definitely worth it as the band played a passionate two hour set full of their biggest hits, some rarely played gems and a number of songs off of their latest album, Delta Machine.

Classics like "Enjoy The Silence", "Personal Jesus" and "Policy of Truth" drew the biggest crowd reactions but some of the newer material like "Soothe My Soul" also got the crowd moving and singing along.

The band sounded great and they had a fantastic production behind them with eye catching visuals and eye popping lighting and lasers.

Frontman Dave Gahan has not lost any of his energy as he pranced and swayed from one end of the stage to the other and he clearly still relishes his sex symbol status.

Guitarist and chief songwriter, Martin Gore, also had his moment in the spotlight performing "Higher Love" and "But Not Tonight" back to back and returning later in the encore set with a heartfelt rendition of "Home".

The set also found the band pulling out their hit "Just Can't Get Enough", which had been left off their set list for many years and began with Gahan egging on the crowd with, "Do you know this song?"

Depeche Mode closed with a  five-song encore that wrapped with "Never Let Me Down" and an enduring image of everyone in the packed pavilion and on the lawn swaying with their arms raised.