Live Review: Duran Duran

Live Review: Duran Duran

Duran Duran: Aidin Vaziri | Crucially, Duran Duran look and sound amazing. In contrast to most bands, which grit their teeth and do these reunion tours as a way of squaring things with the IRS, you get the feeling that singer Simon LeBon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor, guitarist Andy Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor have reunited because they actually enjoy doing this for a living. Yes, the new tracks sound as if they need a shot of caffeine, but the band charges through the classic material with obvious lust. LeBon turns "Save a Prayer," an intimate song looking back on a one-night stand, into a massive audience sing-along. He drives the scratchy funk of "Notorious" into a car- crash chorus of "We Are Family," which he punctuates with improvised karate moves. And, best of all, he sings "The Chauffeur" dressed as a chauffeur. The later it gets, the bigger his smile grows. By the time the band barrels into a spasmodic encore of "White Lines," "Girls On Film" and "Rio," leaving the crowd breathlessly reaching for the stage, it becomes obvious Duran Duran shouldn't worry so much about getting respect when it's already getting worshiped.