Post by Tin on Oct 14, 2011 22:19:31 GMT -5
It was a packed house Tuesday night at the Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino as Duran Duran returned to South Florida. The international pop phenomemon is on the middle leg of their "All You Need is Now" tour, joined by The Neon Trees.
So the big question is: Does the band still have it after more than 30 years?
Oh YES.
H-E-double hockey sticks YES. There’s no question that Simon Le Bon and the rest of the band are still on top of their game—perhaps even better than ever.
They opened with a surprisingly slower song from the "All You Need Is Now" album: Before the Rain—but it immediately established that Simon’s voice--truly , the finest instrument in the band--is still stellar and sounds exactly as it did in the 80’s. The acoustics at the Hard Rock are outstanding, and even all the way in the VIP section on the 3rd level, I could hear his golden voice resonating clear and strong. I was happy to hear this considering he’s sustained injuries to his vocal chords in the past.
The band then exploded with a fabulous blast from the past with Planet Earth. It got the crowd up on their feet, and they stayed that way pretty much through the entire concert, which lasted a solid two hours.
Though obviously promoting their new album, which is a perfect update of their classic sound, Duran Duran also treated us to a variety of favorites from past years: A View to a Kill, Come Undone, The Reflex, Leave a Light On, Ordinary World, and even Hungry Like the Wolf (one that always brings me back to those early MTV days, I think I watched that video several hundred times in the 80’s). I’m a fan of the new album, and enjoyed hearing the title track, plus songs like Blame the Machines, Girl Panic!, Safe—and even was pleasantly surprised to hear The Man Who Stole a Leopard—I expected to hear Runway Runaway which is a bit more mainstream than that, but they left it off the setlist. I was disappointed that they didn't include anything from Red Carpet Massacre, but understandably there simply wasn't enough time to include everything.
The stage set was larger than life and with all the flash and glitter you’d expect from these glamourous boys. They blended in a backdrop of colorful video behind them that lit up the stage in faux fire, and four Talking Heads came to life with images including disco balls and the beautiful Nagel-esque face of Lady Rio. During a few songs like The Reflex, the heads transformed into the singing faces of Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Roger Taylor. It was an effect similar to the talking heads in the library at the Haunted Mansion at Disney World—and quite honestly, though clever and a great techno-trick, Duran Duran simply doesn’t need it. They give a solid, electrifying performance every time and can hold their own without any fancy stage wizardry.
They've definitely embraced the latest social media technology as well, holding a Twitter party before the show and even during the instrumental Tiger Tiger, encouraging fans to tweet #duranlive so we could watch our messages scrolling on the screen behind them as they played.
Not only did the Wild Boys come together like they've never been apart, but they gave us the added bonus of guitarist Dom Brown, saxophonist Simon Willescroft, brilliant backup vocalist Anna Ross, and the fiery red-headed percussionist Chastity Ashley.
This is the third time I've seen the band perform in South Florida over the last few years, and I’m amazed every time. I’ve seen them at the Bank Atlantic Center, Mizner Park and now at Hard Rock (they also performed in Miami at the UltraFest last year, but I unfortunately missed that). I loved Mizner for its outdoor venue, but that’s not always ideal with our unpredictable weather (and I was glad we were indoors because it was raining hard on arrival Tuesday night). I was surprised they were playing a smaller venue again, but what I loved about seeing them at the Hard Rock was that we were in a VIP section that had so much room we got up and danced the whole time, and didn’t have to worry about anyone asking us to sit down. In fact, hardly anyone in that section was sitting in their seats—it was like being at our own private club where Duran Duran was playing just for us.
They closed the show with Reach Up for the Sunrise from their Astronaut album, which is actually one of my favorite songs from that release (and the only track they played from that album). The energy was off the charts at that point, and of course we couldn’t wait for the band to come back for an encore.
They gave us Wild Boys that blended nicely into a rendition of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Relax, then finished their final moments with the fan favorite, Rio, as I was hoping they would (no Duran Duran show would be complete without dishing up a serving of that timeless classic.)
Duran Duran once again proved why they have been going strong for so many years. They delivered amazing vocals and were clearly enjoying performing together again on stage, and even songs from more than 25 years ago sounded fresh and current. The show was everything fans could have hoped for—with the exception of one minor detail: the two hours flew by and we wanted more.
Here’s hoping they’ll come back to South Florida again soon.
For the complete setlist that they played at the Hard Rock Live, click here. To see where you can catch them on their remaining leg of the tour, check out their website.
www.examiner.com/and-fort-lauderdale-performing-arts-in-miami/does-duran-duran-still-have-what-it-takes-after-all-these-years-review
So the big question is: Does the band still have it after more than 30 years?
Oh YES.
H-E-double hockey sticks YES. There’s no question that Simon Le Bon and the rest of the band are still on top of their game—perhaps even better than ever.
They opened with a surprisingly slower song from the "All You Need Is Now" album: Before the Rain—but it immediately established that Simon’s voice--truly , the finest instrument in the band--is still stellar and sounds exactly as it did in the 80’s. The acoustics at the Hard Rock are outstanding, and even all the way in the VIP section on the 3rd level, I could hear his golden voice resonating clear and strong. I was happy to hear this considering he’s sustained injuries to his vocal chords in the past.
The band then exploded with a fabulous blast from the past with Planet Earth. It got the crowd up on their feet, and they stayed that way pretty much through the entire concert, which lasted a solid two hours.
Though obviously promoting their new album, which is a perfect update of their classic sound, Duran Duran also treated us to a variety of favorites from past years: A View to a Kill, Come Undone, The Reflex, Leave a Light On, Ordinary World, and even Hungry Like the Wolf (one that always brings me back to those early MTV days, I think I watched that video several hundred times in the 80’s). I’m a fan of the new album, and enjoyed hearing the title track, plus songs like Blame the Machines, Girl Panic!, Safe—and even was pleasantly surprised to hear The Man Who Stole a Leopard—I expected to hear Runway Runaway which is a bit more mainstream than that, but they left it off the setlist. I was disappointed that they didn't include anything from Red Carpet Massacre, but understandably there simply wasn't enough time to include everything.
The stage set was larger than life and with all the flash and glitter you’d expect from these glamourous boys. They blended in a backdrop of colorful video behind them that lit up the stage in faux fire, and four Talking Heads came to life with images including disco balls and the beautiful Nagel-esque face of Lady Rio. During a few songs like The Reflex, the heads transformed into the singing faces of Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor and Roger Taylor. It was an effect similar to the talking heads in the library at the Haunted Mansion at Disney World—and quite honestly, though clever and a great techno-trick, Duran Duran simply doesn’t need it. They give a solid, electrifying performance every time and can hold their own without any fancy stage wizardry.
They've definitely embraced the latest social media technology as well, holding a Twitter party before the show and even during the instrumental Tiger Tiger, encouraging fans to tweet #duranlive so we could watch our messages scrolling on the screen behind them as they played.
Not only did the Wild Boys come together like they've never been apart, but they gave us the added bonus of guitarist Dom Brown, saxophonist Simon Willescroft, brilliant backup vocalist Anna Ross, and the fiery red-headed percussionist Chastity Ashley.
This is the third time I've seen the band perform in South Florida over the last few years, and I’m amazed every time. I’ve seen them at the Bank Atlantic Center, Mizner Park and now at Hard Rock (they also performed in Miami at the UltraFest last year, but I unfortunately missed that). I loved Mizner for its outdoor venue, but that’s not always ideal with our unpredictable weather (and I was glad we were indoors because it was raining hard on arrival Tuesday night). I was surprised they were playing a smaller venue again, but what I loved about seeing them at the Hard Rock was that we were in a VIP section that had so much room we got up and danced the whole time, and didn’t have to worry about anyone asking us to sit down. In fact, hardly anyone in that section was sitting in their seats—it was like being at our own private club where Duran Duran was playing just for us.
They closed the show with Reach Up for the Sunrise from their Astronaut album, which is actually one of my favorite songs from that release (and the only track they played from that album). The energy was off the charts at that point, and of course we couldn’t wait for the band to come back for an encore.
They gave us Wild Boys that blended nicely into a rendition of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Relax, then finished their final moments with the fan favorite, Rio, as I was hoping they would (no Duran Duran show would be complete without dishing up a serving of that timeless classic.)
Duran Duran once again proved why they have been going strong for so many years. They delivered amazing vocals and were clearly enjoying performing together again on stage, and even songs from more than 25 years ago sounded fresh and current. The show was everything fans could have hoped for—with the exception of one minor detail: the two hours flew by and we wanted more.
Here’s hoping they’ll come back to South Florida again soon.
For the complete setlist that they played at the Hard Rock Live, click here. To see where you can catch them on their remaining leg of the tour, check out their website.
www.examiner.com/and-fort-lauderdale-performing-arts-in-miami/does-duran-duran-still-have-what-it-takes-after-all-these-years-review