Wow, what a night. Last night was Duran Duran at the PNC Bank Arts Center, and what a performance. It was actually my second time seeing them, as Lisa and I had caught their first big reunion show in NYC about 2 years ago. For Lisa, it was her fourth time (although only the second time with the original lineup). It’s tough to say which show was better, as this one was far more bombastic and the last one was a rather intimate setting. I guess I’ll just have to settle for saying I’ve seen two great shows by them!
We headed over to Jeff and Sara’s house in the afternoon and grabbed some sandwiches for the road. Fortunately we actually played it smart, and headed over early enough to avoid traffic and parking difficulties. That left us plenty of time to eat and people watch – and let’s face it, 80s revival concerts are the best times to people watch. Oh the fashion atrocities and shirtless wonders that we beheld! Never again shall I gaze upon plastic skirts in such horror and amazement! Nicole and her parents arrived for some tailgating (that’s right, her parents were tailgating for a Duran Duran concert – pretty damn cool).
As for the show, the opening act was fairly forgettable, but that’s the best we could hope for. At 9 the main act took the stage. Simon LeBon was far more energetic this time around, and did high kicks, spins, and lept over equipment. Not bad for a middle aged guy! More importantly, however, his voice is still in prime condition. I’m amazed at how well he sings after all these years. The song selection was fantastic, and covered most of their hits as well as some of their newer material. We were ecstatic to hear “Reflex” as they had omitted that track at the last show, so it was definitely my top priority song. Aside from that I most wanted to hear “Ordinary World” and figured enough other hits would be played to satisfy me.
“A View to a Kill,” “Wild Boys,” “Notorious,” and “Hungry Like the Wolf” were all amazing and lively performances. They also did some great numbers from their latest “Astronaut,” which means that I need to listen to that album some more. The encore included a 15 minute version of “Girls on Film” featuring the band introductions (Simon pulled a woman on stage to introduce himself) and an out-of-nowhere segment of “Groove is in the Heart” and concluded with a rousing rendition of “Rio.” They had done more of their 80s hits when we saw them in NYC, since that was before this latest release, so this show definitely left off some great ones (notably “Is There Something I Should Know?”). But that just means we’ll be sure to get tickets again next time their in town.
The whole concert left us with this semi-drunk, overwhelmed feeling. The night was late enough that I find myself still sitting in bed in my underwear at 1:30 in the afternoon. Time to start the rest of our weekend!