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Duran Duran Roll Out the “Red Carpet” and Draw Trump, Olsen Twin to Broadway

11/5/07, 3:12 pm EST


The name Duran Duran conjures many images, most of which aren’t dated past 1986, from skinny ties to copious amounts of lip gloss to awkward dancing. All three were fabulously in full effect Friday night as a wildly diverse New York crowd that included Donald Trump and an Olsen twin welcomed the band to Broadway’s intimate Ethyl Barrymore Theatre, where the group is in the midst of a nine-night run promoting their latest record, Red Carpet Massacre.

Broken down into three Broadway-style “acts,” Duran Duran kicked off the show playing their new album in its entirety, showing off their new repertoire’s Timbaland and Danja-enhanced beats, which came off as the most relevant and consistent body of music they have put together in a long time. Despite a couple of snoozers like “Box Full O’ Honey,” the packed house — which was filled Eighties enthusiasts in addition to the famous faces — rarely left their feet. Tracks like “Nite Runner” and “Skin Divers” provided the most impressive rump-shakers of the evening, complete with ersatz versions of Timbaland and what appeared to be a pop-locking dominatrix.
After an intermission and a costume change, the group returned to the stage for the brief “techno” portion of the evening, which saw four of the five original members (founding guitarist Andy Taylor bowed out in 2006) standing in Kraftwerk-ian formation behind keyboards and an electronic drum set. Modified versions of classics followed with “I Don’t Want Your Love” and “All She Wants Is” as well as an impressive cover of “Warm Leatherette” setting the tone for what was to follow: an avalanche of hits.

With a full brass section in tow, the band quickly returned to more traditional bass/drums/guitar set-up (guitarist Dominic Brown subbed for Andy Taylor) and ripped through “Notorious,” “The Reflex” and “A View to a Kill.” Simon Le Bon shimmied and goaded the crowd, showing off his charming showmanship and the band never let their energy dip. And when they broke out the biggest mover of the night, “Planet Earth,” even the Donald managed to sway in time.

Setlist for 11/02/2007

Red Carpet Massacre Set:
The Valley
Red Carpet Massacre
Nite Runner
Falling Down
Box Full O’ Honey
Skin Divers
Tempted
Tricked Out
Zoom In
She’s Too Much
Dirty Great Monster
Last Man Standing

Techno Set:
Showroom Dummies
Last Chance on the Stairway
All She Wants Is
Warm Leatherette
I Don’t Want Your Love
Skin Trade

“Hits” Set
Notorious
The Reflex
I Take the Dice
Ordinary World
Planet Earth
A View to a Kill
Sunrise

Encore
Girls on Film


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Comments

Grace borg | 10/11/2008, 4:52 pm EST

Saw Duran Duran last July in MALTA and they were great.Wish you will come back.The new cd is fantastic.You are great guys.From Grace Borg,Malta.

Spryboy | 3/17/2008, 1:46 am EST

“Box full of Honey” isn’t a snoozer at all, it’s one of the best ballads they’ve ever done. It’s my second favorite track on the new disc, after “Skin Divers”, which just plain rocks.

shame redux | 11/11/2007, 6:29 pm EST

apologies for the moron part, but your comment was pretty harsh considering

Shame on You (Follow-Up) | 11/10/2007, 10:40 pm EST

I read the review wrong. My mistake. Take back what I said. Call me a moron, though, and I’ll knock your block off.

"never left its feet" | 11/10/2007, 10:02 pm EST

means NEVER SAT DOWN. jesus christ this blog is read by morons

Rolling Stone -- Shame on You! | 11/10/2007, 9:27 pm EST

Your reporter is deadwrong, astonishingly so: “the crowd never left its feet” … Did he attend the show? Admittedly, I couldn’t see the balcony, but from my perspective (during 2 shows), in the orchestra almost EVERYONE was standing during the ENTIRE show. Shame on the reporter’s irresponsible and factually incorrect review.
- Andrew K

Review Not Accurate | 11/10/2007, 9:22 pm EST

Hi — I’ve been to two of the shows thus far — Opening Night, which I think lacked energy, then what may turn out to be the final Broadway show (Friday), which was one of the best concerts of theirs I have seen.

But your reporter states an astonishingly incorrect fact >> the crowd never left its feet

fred | 11/8/2007, 6:06 pm EST

I would have loved to see the techno set
duran duran doing showroom dummies must have been an incredible sight

Dennis A. | 11/7/2007, 11:41 am EST

i miss Andy Taylor. New stuff is pretty good but could use his guitar playing.

Eric | 11/6/2007, 4:30 pm EST

I will say it was a kick-ass show. The new music is great. It was a treat to hear Last chance on the Stairway, though. Oh, and I thought Box Full of Honey was great! it’s a ballad. Sorry if some of you don’t like ballads.

Eric | 11/6/2007, 4:28 pm EST

Thank god there was no HLTW.
If there’s one song that they need never play again….

Muse | 11/6/2007, 2:34 pm EST

Thank GOD, there was no “Rio”, “HLTW” or “Save a Prayer”.

The show was for the definitive fanbase and not the mass audience as well as an intro to the new CD.

It was a fantastic gig!

EU DD Fan | 11/6/2007, 11:02 am EST

To whom it may concern: Is there any possibility to know if the London show, the one that will be hosted in a larger venue and not Odeon Leicester Sq, will be on the 3rd of December? If not, I’d like to know as flights can’t be canceeled but I’m still on time to cancel hotel reservations. And I’m not the only one. Thank you.

duran duran ackt on the top | 11/6/2007, 8:15 am EST

welcome on the top duran duran
they are the best

spider | 11/5/2007, 7:15 pm EST

Awesome show! Natasha Bedingfield, Moby, and Richie Sambora of BonJovi were there too! “Rio” and “HLTW” will be back when the tour kicks off next year! Great to hear a few obscure songs dusted off! The main purpose of the Broadway shows is to showcase the new cd, “Red Carpet Massacre” which was AWESOME!!!

Lara | 11/5/2007, 7:05 pm EST

It’s nice that they DIDN’T do “Rio” or HLTW. Honestly, those sings are a bit tired and the fans like a little variety in their shows. It’s rare and quite a treat to hear songs like “Last Chance on the Stairway”, “I Take the Dice”, and “Skin Trade” live.

Leslie | 11/5/2007, 6:36 pm EST

Fran Drescher was there too

Oddjob | 11/5/2007, 5:49 pm EST

No “Rio” OR “Hungry Like The Wolf”?

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