This year’s wedding anniversary present was floor tickets to see these guys at the Moody Theater on November 1st. They were the big concert to anchor the F1 race Austin was saddled with thanks to the outgoing shit bag we call Governor Perry. How I wish Duran Duran came to play for less expensive reasons.
Nonetheless I was stoked to see them for the fourth time. This show was the 30th anniversary of when I saw them the first time amongst the hundreds of screaming teen girls. They’re currently between records, rumor has it they want Nile Rodgers to produce again, sweet, he worked on Notorious which has aged pretty well after a couple decades.
The show was a semi-special event beyond the F1 and anniversary. They limited the numbers on the floor, provided an open bar (I had three cosmos with Tito’s vodka) and had appetizers. No opener neither, just a DJ. I figured they knew they were catering to an older crowd who just wants the hits.
Despite the set list being heavily tilted to their back catalog, I was glad they did perform “All You Need is Now” and “Girl Panic!” from the last album they did with Mark Ronson (at least he didn’t make them crib Amy Winehouse’s terrible sound). I loved how Simon broke into Talking Head’s “Psychokiller” during the bridge of “Girls on Film.” Everybody expected them to do Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Relax” during “Wild Boys.” I was surprised they bothered to cover anything from Thank You, the tribute record most panned unfairly.
The tradeoff for sticking to the hits most people know was a more civil crowd. A shoving match is less likely to happen because somebody’s going to break a hip and the sitter charges double after 10 PM! We arrived early enough to be up close, the closest I’ve ever been at a Duran Duran show. The photos on display were taken by Somara via our digital camera (the designations imply they were). I sure hope I look as good as they do in my fifties, namely Simon and Nick.
Anyone interested in getting a better track listing of their older and newer stuff buzz me.