Post by Graecia13 on May 31, 2008 8:34:19 GMT -5
So this past Tuesday was my second and last (*sob*) Duran Duran concert for this leg of the tour. It was at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD, which is, in the local parlance, a suck-butt venue out in the middle of bumfcku nowhere. It's actually closer to Baltimore than to DC, but as Simon kept talking about DC, I suppose this was as close as they could get. Shame that Wolf Trap probably had their summer schedule long finalized before the boys got around to booking venues.
Anyway. So my friends and I got to Merriweather a little before 8, figuring we had plenty of time to avoid Your Vegas (they're good, just *loud*). But while in line for merchandise, we heard someone say that Your Vegas had already been and gone, and in fact Duran was due to start any time! A peek at the stage showed that this was almost certainly true. Needless to say, we skedaddled to our seats, which were down on the floor, waaaaaaaaaay over to the right. Technically, it was Row B, but set at such an angle that we were actually at the very back of the floor section and so far to the side that we were past the corner of Dom's end of the stage.
Sadly, between the dark lighting, the angle, and my own fumbling amateur camera skills (and inability not to dance), my pictures didn't come out particularly well. But I share them below, along with comments about the concert, because a few were cute, a few were blurry (but serviceable), and a few I just had smart-ass remarks about.
It was a hot and muggy night, as it usually is when DD comes to town. Welcome to the swamp, boys. Try the autumn for once, you'll like it better. When the music started, the bass was literally shaking the seats and physically vibrating the air. I felt little gusts of warm air on my face with every note. Simon remarked that we were already preheated for them!
All the people around me were up and dancing, screaming and singing, though I understand that wasn't the case for much of the crowd further back. But since I couldn't see them from where I was, it didn't bother me much. Simon did seem to have to work harder to get people into it, as opposed to the playful giddiness they all had in Philly. The RCM songs seemed to go over well, though of course, never as well as the old stuff. Once Simon's coat came off, it was down to business.
Simon would like you to sing louder.
No, louder than that, please.
They still can't hear you!
I like this one for the way the cuff of his shirt looks blood-stained and how Simon looks a bit weary, like he just had to go beat the crap out of some punks backstage and then came back to finish the song.
This was probably around the time I should have quit taking so many pictures of Simon, but I couldn't help myself.
"Oh, God, is THAT what I've been licking off my fingers all these years???"
Simon is holding back a remark about your outfit.
No, seriously, what were you thinking? Go home, he doesn't want to look at you!
For the slower people in the crowd, Simon demonstrates what "going South Dakota" actually means. Who says his lyrics don't make sense!
As usual, they asked the audience to sing the chorus of SAP, and for once, our audience was very loudly obliging. At one point, Simon had his head tilted back, eyes closed, smiling blissfully as he listened (not shown, but close enough).
Let's throw in some more JoSi, just for the heck of it.
I got very few good pictures of John (aka Blur Boy), sadly. He was far away, and hidden behind his synth bass for much of the show.
During Notorious, he came out in one of the red RCM baseball caps they were selling. I was a little worried that my friend, who has a bit of a thing about John in baseball caps, was going to topple over.
I couldn't blame her.
The Reflex is still one of my favorite songs to hear in concert, mostly for the opportunity to scream "TA NA NA NA!" at the top of my lungs, and also to strain my ears to see what Nick is going to say. Note the angelic lighting.
This time, according to my friend who could hear better than me, he said something like, "Last I checked, Obama had it!"
This is, coincidentally, both the only good picture I got of Roger and almost the only good picture I got of the electro set.
Though I'm also a little fond of this one. Love the flamboyant purple drums, even if one might reasonably feel that they ought to be red.
But wait! Simon needs to introduce the band!
Simon kept going, "Hey fellas! Hey fellas!" before he introduced Anna. He got no response, until finally he was like, "Boy, the fellas are a little thick around here, aren't they?" Oh, Simon. You have no idea.
Seriously, do you know how freakin' hard it is to get a decent picture of Anna? It's like she has some kind of deflector shield.
Ladies! Would you like to meet a man with a big shiny horn? Simon sure would!
And of course, Sir Dom the Unfortunately Unphotogenic (I'm declining to post the picture where he looks like Nick's new Frankenguitarist). My favorite Dom moments from the show -- when he screwed up the start of Falling Down, and Simon said, "Dom Brown, everybody! Sometimes he plays with us. And sometimes he plays with someone else." Later, when Simon was building up the steam for John's intro, Dom was grinning up at John and chanting "Play the fckuing bass, John!" like it was the funniest thing he ever heard.
"You're looking at the future! Of the human race, man! He has such a pretty face, man! Can I come to your place, man?" What I love about Nick's intro is the way he very graciously nods when Simon asks if he can come over to his place. Like, of course you can. Bring snacks.
And then I ran out of batteries for my camera right before Rio. Thank God, I hear you cry!
All in all, it wasn't as much fun as Philly, but it was still Duran Duran and they sound more wonderful with every tour (even when it doesn't seem possible to improve any further). I'm still trying to repress the urge to catch the bus up to NYC for tonight!
Anyway. So my friends and I got to Merriweather a little before 8, figuring we had plenty of time to avoid Your Vegas (they're good, just *loud*). But while in line for merchandise, we heard someone say that Your Vegas had already been and gone, and in fact Duran was due to start any time! A peek at the stage showed that this was almost certainly true. Needless to say, we skedaddled to our seats, which were down on the floor, waaaaaaaaaay over to the right. Technically, it was Row B, but set at such an angle that we were actually at the very back of the floor section and so far to the side that we were past the corner of Dom's end of the stage.
Sadly, between the dark lighting, the angle, and my own fumbling amateur camera skills (and inability not to dance), my pictures didn't come out particularly well. But I share them below, along with comments about the concert, because a few were cute, a few were blurry (but serviceable), and a few I just had smart-ass remarks about.
It was a hot and muggy night, as it usually is when DD comes to town. Welcome to the swamp, boys. Try the autumn for once, you'll like it better. When the music started, the bass was literally shaking the seats and physically vibrating the air. I felt little gusts of warm air on my face with every note. Simon remarked that we were already preheated for them!
All the people around me were up and dancing, screaming and singing, though I understand that wasn't the case for much of the crowd further back. But since I couldn't see them from where I was, it didn't bother me much. Simon did seem to have to work harder to get people into it, as opposed to the playful giddiness they all had in Philly. The RCM songs seemed to go over well, though of course, never as well as the old stuff. Once Simon's coat came off, it was down to business.
Simon would like you to sing louder.
No, louder than that, please.
They still can't hear you!
I like this one for the way the cuff of his shirt looks blood-stained and how Simon looks a bit weary, like he just had to go beat the crap out of some punks backstage and then came back to finish the song.
This was probably around the time I should have quit taking so many pictures of Simon, but I couldn't help myself.
"Oh, God, is THAT what I've been licking off my fingers all these years???"
Simon is holding back a remark about your outfit.
No, seriously, what were you thinking? Go home, he doesn't want to look at you!
For the slower people in the crowd, Simon demonstrates what "going South Dakota" actually means. Who says his lyrics don't make sense!
As usual, they asked the audience to sing the chorus of SAP, and for once, our audience was very loudly obliging. At one point, Simon had his head tilted back, eyes closed, smiling blissfully as he listened (not shown, but close enough).
Let's throw in some more JoSi, just for the heck of it.
I got very few good pictures of John (aka Blur Boy), sadly. He was far away, and hidden behind his synth bass for much of the show.
During Notorious, he came out in one of the red RCM baseball caps they were selling. I was a little worried that my friend, who has a bit of a thing about John in baseball caps, was going to topple over.
I couldn't blame her.
The Reflex is still one of my favorite songs to hear in concert, mostly for the opportunity to scream "TA NA NA NA!" at the top of my lungs, and also to strain my ears to see what Nick is going to say. Note the angelic lighting.
This time, according to my friend who could hear better than me, he said something like, "Last I checked, Obama had it!"
This is, coincidentally, both the only good picture I got of Roger and almost the only good picture I got of the electro set.
Though I'm also a little fond of this one. Love the flamboyant purple drums, even if one might reasonably feel that they ought to be red.
But wait! Simon needs to introduce the band!
Simon kept going, "Hey fellas! Hey fellas!" before he introduced Anna. He got no response, until finally he was like, "Boy, the fellas are a little thick around here, aren't they?" Oh, Simon. You have no idea.
Seriously, do you know how freakin' hard it is to get a decent picture of Anna? It's like she has some kind of deflector shield.
Ladies! Would you like to meet a man with a big shiny horn? Simon sure would!
And of course, Sir Dom the Unfortunately Unphotogenic (I'm declining to post the picture where he looks like Nick's new Frankenguitarist). My favorite Dom moments from the show -- when he screwed up the start of Falling Down, and Simon said, "Dom Brown, everybody! Sometimes he plays with us. And sometimes he plays with someone else." Later, when Simon was building up the steam for John's intro, Dom was grinning up at John and chanting "Play the fckuing bass, John!" like it was the funniest thing he ever heard.
"You're looking at the future! Of the human race, man! He has such a pretty face, man! Can I come to your place, man?" What I love about Nick's intro is the way he very graciously nods when Simon asks if he can come over to his place. Like, of course you can. Bring snacks.
And then I ran out of batteries for my camera right before Rio. Thank God, I hear you cry!
All in all, it wasn't as much fun as Philly, but it was still Duran Duran and they sound more wonderful with every tour (even when it doesn't seem possible to improve any further). I'm still trying to repress the urge to catch the bus up to NYC for tonight!