Concert Review: Duran Duran’s Sold Out Saturday Night in New York

New York City-based dance-pop artist Chris Glover, better known as Penguin Prison, got the crowd at Port Chester, New York’s Capitol Theatre warmed up for Duran Duran last night with an hour-long performance. During his upbeat DJ set, he included plenty of 80’s influenced tracks, appealing to the nostalgic crowd. Shortly after 9:00PM, Duran Duran’s instrumental, orchestral rendition of their hit “A View to a Kill” came over the speakers, sending the crowd into a frenzy of excitement. As the band members settled into their respective places, lead singer Simon le Bon took center stage and stared into the audience knowing full well they were about to deliver a killer performance. And they didn’t disappoint.

Starting the night with a bang, Duran Duran opened with “Wild Boys,” a pulsing, complicated song that highlights le Bon’s vocal range, and lets drummer Roger Taylor get out any aggression he may have. Bassist John Taylor looked happy to be back on stage, as his daughter, model Atlanta De Cadenet Taylor, lovingly stood in the wings, snapping photos of the show. They kept the stage set-up fairly simple, with only a large screen behind the band to depict thematically relevant images. The bright flames shown during their first song smoothly transitioned into footage from their “A View to a Kill” music video. After finishing their infamous James Bond theme, le Bon took a moment to thank the crowd for coming out, adding with a smile: “Apparently Duran Duran are cool again.” Apparently they’re still doing something right if people are lining up in front of the venue at 2:30 in the morning for two sold out shows this weekend.

Keeping the theme rolling with their hits, “Hungry like the Wolf” was next, with its signature female laugh to start the song. After their three high energy opening tracks, they slowed down the pace with the haunting, romantic “Come Undone.” The allure and peacefulness of “Come Undone” gave way to “Girl Panic,” a song off the band’s last album, All You Need is Now. In typical Duran Duran fashion, the stage screen depicted models, models, and more models. Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen, Eva Herzigova, and Yasmin le Bon led their good looks toward the making of the “Girl Panic” music video, which played throughout the band’s performance.

Eventually le Bon and John Taylor shed their incredibly stylish leather jackets as their set heated up. “Girl Panic” melted into “All You Need is Now” before le Bon took a moment to fetch his chauffeur’s cap for “The Chauffeur,” a Helmut Newton-inspired song about a lady of the night. As keyboardist Nick Rhodes artfully set the mood with his infamous synth-hooks, le Bon showed off his talents on the ocarina, a flute-like wind instrument that lends its signature sound to the track.

In a nod to their non-Duran Duran days, they performed “Election Day” next, a 1985 single from le Bon, Rhodes, and John Taylor’s time as the trio Arcadia. Backing vocalist Anna Ross led her talents to Grace Jones’ original solo on “Election Day,” and Ross saw a few of her most shining moments during “Come Undone” and “Pressure Off,” the band’s newest single. Throwing it back to their funkier run during the 90’s, Duran Duran played their cover of Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel’s “White Lines.” To me, there’s nothing better than watching Simon le Bon rap.

Again, the band somehow managed to effortlessly transition between a rap-rock song like “White Lines” to the Ivor Novello Award winning rock-ballad “Ordinary World.” Le Bon hit all the right notes on this admittedly difficult song, even bringing a portion of the crowd to tears. Eyes began to dry as the band used this emotional momentum to launch into their newest song: “Pressure Off.” The infectious, dance-friendly track, produced by Chic’s Nile Rodgers and featuring Janelle Monae, was well-received by the crowd, with most already knowing the lyrics despite its recent release. The single is featured on their latest (and fourteenth!) studio album, Paper Gods. Slated for a September 2015 release, Paper Gods includes the talents of producers Mark Ronson, Mr. Hudson, Joshua Blair, and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ guitarist John Frusciante. With Duran Duran, a new album only means one thing: a new tour to follow. You certainly can’t accuse them of slacking or being lazy! Currently, the band are performing a small string of shows, perhaps to get the new single heard and to get back into the swing of things after a few years of dedicated studio time.

To keep everyone dancing, they busted out with “Notorious” next, their funky 1986 hit produced by Nile Rodgers. As I surveyed the audience from my glorious second row spot, I noticed that the general admission folks weren’t the only ones that were getting into the concert—the balcony area was packed full of dancing concertgoers, big smiles plastered across their faces. For many, Duran Duran’s set list took them back to the 80’s, where their love of the band first began. For others, their wives were dragging them along to get photos and prevent the throwing of panties on stage (this happened three times last night, I kid you not). While le Bon was dodging flying underwear and trying not to giggle about it, the band launched into “Planet Earth,” a single from their 1981 debut, self-titled album.

While not an official member of Duran Duran, guitarist Dom Brown held his own with the 80’s legends, particularly shining on tracks like “(Reach Up for the) Sunrise,” an upbeat, guitar-heavy track. He has performed on the band’s past few tours, and has grown his fan base tremendously since then, as the Duranies have welcomed him in despite the parting of original guitarist Andy Taylor in 2006. Saxophonist Simon Willescroft had a few significant solos throughout the set, especially on the band’s final song “Rio.” After “Rio,” the four main members, along with their backing musicians, came to the front of the stage for their bows and thank you’s. Upon leaving the stage, the crowd continued to hoot and holler, demanding an encore. After fifteen more minutes (triple the amount of time it usually takes the band to return for their encore set), Duran Duran were still nowhere to be found. The house lights came on, and people began to boo. Having seen the band quite a few times, I have never experienced them skipping out on an encore. As the crowd grew frustrated and confused, I put in some waiting time and decided to head back to the merchandise table to check out their new Paper Gods products. Patrons began exiting the venue, and a small group of dedicated Duranies flocked to the side entrance of the building in hopes of catching a glimpse of the band as they left for their hotel. After twenty more minutes of confused waiting around and occasional booing, the crowd apparently got what they wanted: Duran Duran returned to perform two more songs: “Careless Memories” and “Girls on Film.” While I unfortunately missed out on these two final numbers, I heard it was worth the wait from people who did stick around. I figured it would be strange of them to skip out on an encore, but I have never seen them take that much time between sets, so I was fooled. I was a bit bummed to miss the encore, but that’s what I get for doubting them in the first place. After delivering such a killer set, I’m sure they need a quick rest and recharge! Moral of the story: long live Duran Duran.