For those who attended the concert by Duran Duran at Viejas Arena in San Diego on January 4, the intermittent rain showers didn’t dampen the spirits of the crowds gathered outside, as people waited for the doors to open at 7 pm. Once inside the venue, concert-goers were treated to a pre-show set by the guest DJ, who worked the controls at the front of the stage. For some, the occasion marked their very first time at a Duran Duran event, but for the vast majority, the night was a homecoming of sorts-a return odyssey to see the band that was an integral part of the soundtrack of their youth.
At 8:30 pm, the house lights dimmed, as the distinctive whir of synthesizer ushered in the beautifully cryptic “Velvet Newton,” perfectly synced with the visuals moving across the large screen situated above the stage. The mini-movie presented itself as a kind of cinematic homage to Ridley Scott’s 1982 Sci-fi classic “Blade Runner,” which featured Duran Duran traveling through the universe in a fully-equipped, computerized spacecraft to reach their final destination: San Diego, California, where thousands of people were expecting their arrival.
It was showtime.
Duran Duran kicked off the evening with “Night Boat,” a portentous piece of gothic synergy that regaled their return to glory and with an unspoken promise that the next two hours belonged to the fans. Looking dapper in a white blazer and silvery pants, Simon Le Bon navigated the stage with confidence and his usual British charm, while brandishing the setlist curated from the band’s extensive canon of hits. “The Wild Boys,” “Hungry Like The Wolf,” which prompted Le Bon to shout, ‘I wanna hear you howling like the wolf!,’ and other choice selections, once championed by the now-defunct music channel MTV that was responsible for launching Duran Duran’s career in the 1980s, pumped double shots of adrenaline through their veins. Fortunately the band resisted the temptation to rehash and regurgitate the same old material for nostalgia’s sake. On this particular stop of their West Coast tour, Duran Duran’s performance at Viejas Arena served as a testament of their unwavering commitment to remain relevant, as musicians, in the 21st-century.
Fervent renditions of ELO’s 1975 hit, “Evil Woman,” and Grandmaster Flash’s “White Lines (Don’t Do It)” were well received, especially with the latter that witnessed many in the audience joining in on the rousing opener of rapper Melle Mel’s anti-drug classic. John Taylor laid down the groove and syncopated beats with his signature bass licks, further validating his status as one of modern music’s preeminent bass gods. While fueling major mojo into “Girls On Film,” the funkmeister delivered the goods, as if it were 1981 all over again. Synth maestro Nick Rhodes, the enigma behind the hauntingly majestical overtures he’s been succinctly crafting since he first formed Duran Duran with Taylor in 1978, while still in their teens, tripped the macabre fantastic on “Lonely In Your Nightmare” and the iconic “Planet Earth.” In his hands, every note and chord structure becomes a thing of dark, immense beauty that has served this band well and speaks volumes about why Rhodes is truly the master of his domain.
Drummer Roger Taylor executed flawless precision with the same momentum he’s consistently demonstrated since signing on with Duran Duran in 1979. He turned up the primordial heat on “Super Freak,” originally done by Rick James and now a concert tantalizer for the band, by giving it the rhythmic edge it warranted to stay funky-fresh. Lead guitarist Dom Brown flexed serious musical muscle throughout the show, which, at times, motivated his bandmates to roll with the punches. When the gunslinger injected extra salvo into “(Reach Up For The) Sunrise,” the anthem morphed into a pseudo 21-gun salute to Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, rather than acquiesce to the feel-good vibes of the studio recording. At this juncture in his career, Brown has more than proven his merit, as a musician, and that it’s safe to say he’s the “secret weapon” in the long-running institution known as Duran Duran.
For an artist who’s been making music professionally for nearly 50 years, Le Bon shows no signs of retiring any time soon. His vocal prowess is remarkably unscathed by the ravages of aging and decades spent touring the globe. No more was this observation substantiated than when he introduced “Ordinary World,” the song Le Bon wrote after his close friend David Miles succumbed to a drug overdose in 1986.
Against a moving backdrop of soaring doves, Le Bon invited the audience to illuminate the darkness-a request that was granted from the collective glow of thousands of cell phones which created a galaxy of stars inside Viejas Arena. “Ordinary World” is considered to be one of Duran Duran’s most sacrosanct, revered ballads and has become an international appeal for peace and compassion for all of humanity, existing in a world that oftentimes feels as if it’s spinning off its axis.
As the night drew to a close, two songs noticeably absent, “Save A Prayer” and “Rio,” were resurrected just in time for those patiently awaiting to hear them. Both of the perennials drew the loudest applause, but the moment saxophonist Simon Willescroft wailed on the key instrumental section of “Rio,” thousands in the audience were transported to a tropical island somewhere in the remotest reaches of their imagination and began “dancing on the sand.” Even if it was for the sake of nostalgia with the band that defined the generation of millions around the universe, it was a night worth celebrating with Duran Duran.
- Set List:
Night Boat
The Wild Boys
A View to a Kill
Hungry Like the Wolf
Union of the Snake
Notorious
Evil Woman
Lonely in Your Nightmare / Super Freak
Friends of Mine
Careless Memories
Ordinary World
Come Undone
INVISIBLE
(Reach Up for the) Sunrise
White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It)
Planet Earth
The Reflex
Girls on Film / Psycho Killer
- Encore:
Save a Prayer
Rio
