Happy 50th Simon!
Check out the awesome gift from his bandmates http://www.duranduran.com/wordpress/?page_id=14005
Monday, October 27, 2008
The big 5-0.
Happy 50th Simon!
Check out the awesome gift from his bandmates http://www.duranduran.com/wordpress/?page_id=14005
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
And The Winner Is....
The Greatest Video EVER, as voted on by YOU (via MTV UK), the human race, is.....
Never underestimate the Duranie voter.
Never underestimate the Duranie voter.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Thursday, July 31, 2008
"I’m glad it still survives..."
From John Taylor's blog at Duran Duran.com...Having gotten that out of the way, let us proceed. You were in Washington D.C., Georgetown precisely, and about to join Dom and Craig and myself for a drive south to the Merriweather Post venue. A famous venue in the neighbourhood, I’m glad it still survives, as it’s one of the few ‘indoor-outdoor’ venues that has real character. I first went there with Power Station in ’84 and I’ve been back several times since with Duran. Today we are hoping to beat the traffic out of town and it’s a miserly, sultry sort of early summer day, and I’m just glad it’s not August....
[Taylor comes on stage for the encore wearing a Barrack Obama t-shirt]
...At the Merriweather Post the audience went nuts!
I felt an extraordinary connectedness, almost a sense of relief from the people out there that I had made that choice. There was a palpable sense of love that went beyond the usual.
The D.C. gig was the highpoint, for me, of the US tour. From there we flew to Boston and then on to New York where we were to receive some news that was to rip the guts out of us all.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
$125 was a bargain!
"WILD BOYS: A concert by Duran Duran under the museum's iconic I.M. Pei pyramid headlines a three-day event being organized by American Friends of the Louvre. To be held June 9 to 11, "Liaisons au Louvre" will span multiple events, including a lunch at the American Embassy, high tea in Christian Lacroix's gardens, cocktails at Baccarat and a black-tie gala at the museum, which includes private viewings of the most spectacular galleries and a seated dinner before Duran Duran lets rip its musical reflex.Ticket prices are $10,000: less for French residents."
My birthday is coming up.... hint hint.....
Okay, this event was last night. Bummer. I just check their schedule and they are free on June 18th. They will do private parties. Poolside perhaps?
My birthday is coming up.... hint hint.....
Okay, this event was last night. Bummer. I just check their schedule and they are free on June 18th. They will do private parties. Poolside perhaps?
Thursday, May 29, 2008
4 hours with a fantastic foursome
(A very random duel review)
May 22nd: Mann Music Center, Philadelphia (#11)
May 27th: Merriweather Post Pavillion, Columbia, MARY-land (as John & Simon pronounced it) (#12)
Same set list for both shows. After 24 years, I FINALLY got to hear Last Chance On The Stairway live, even if it wasn't the entire song. I was so anxious to hear it, I couldn't enjoy it the first time because I spent the entire minute & a half thinking, "I'M FINALLY HEARING IT!!!! This is it!!!" and in a flash, it was done. At Merriweather, I just smiled and sang along. Much more enjoyable. I wanted to be sure the guys saw the joy on my face. I wanted to say, 'If you perform this song for the next 20 years, I promise I will never complain about hearing HLTW for the 10 millionth time!'
Didn't try to get the camera into Merriweather. Partly chickened out, partly didn't want to bother. My camera was never going to do justice to the view I had from the 4th row. I watched 10 years worth of O's games through a camera lense. That perspective is too distorted at a concert. I saw most of the camera'd people around me trying to enjoy at rock concert standing still. That must be a slight disappointment from the band's perspective. They are trying to get people to move and they get statues with camera where their faces should be.
Opening act, Your Vegas, were great. The lead singer sounded just like Bono and moved like him too, circa 1982. A Town And Two Cities
My seat at the VERY cold Mann Center was about 20 feet from John Taylor. Which for me is heaven. Only problem was the speakers which blocked most of my view of Roger.
[SIDEBAR: In 7 hours, I will have a bootleg of this show. DIALUP SUCKS! I did consider going out into the hallway and shouting, "Does anyone have a cable connection I can borrow for 5 minutes?!?", but I didn't think that was very neighborly.]
I'm very grateful for this bootleg because I don't remember much from this concert. The show moves VERY fast, even the ballads. There was barely time to catch your breath before they were on the the next tune. Even the "intermission" before the Electro set was only 2 minutes. Just enough time to take drink and a deep breath before the non-stop medley. I'm really not sure why they give Simon a keyboard. I think he hit 5 keys between the 2 shows!
At the beginning of the Electro set, Simon sneezed into his headset mic. The look on his face as part surprise and part 'oops, sorry!'! It was amusing. He also throws the tambourine in the air at the end of "Sunrise". When it came down, it hit him in the nose and rolled off to the side of the stage. He did a better job at Merriweather.
During GOF, Simon plays a little 'copy me' game with the crowd. After about 6 of them, he said, "Do you think this is going somewhere? 'Cause I promise you, it isn't!" and the game continued until the band introductions. This time around, Simon let the entire crowd do his intro. In Philly, he shouted, "What's my name?!?" until the crowd was at fever pitch. At Merriweather it was, "Who's your daddy?!?"
During SAP, virtually everyone in the place held up their cell phone for the "Duran Duran starlight party" as Simon called it. It looked amazing.
{SIDEBAR Part 2: The bootleg is FANTASTIC. Possibly the best one I've ever heard. I've listened to it 10 times already. Now if I can just get the Merriweather show.....}
The new songs sound great live. Especially Tempted. It was very brave of them to start the show with 3 new tunes.
Just before they came on stage at Merriweather, a well-dressed black man sat down next to me. We chatted a little during the show. He was quite friendly. He said he had just come from work because he couldn't let DD be that close and not go see them. When Simon stands at the front of the stage to start the show (about 15 ft away from us), my new friend yelled, "That's Simon 'freaking Le Bon!!!!" and said similar things about John & Nick. He knew all the classics and was singing louder than I was! It was great.
More tidbits as I remember them....
----------------
Now playing: Duran Duran - Red Carpet Massacre
via FoxyTunes
May 22nd: Mann Music Center, Philadelphia (#11)
May 27th: Merriweather Post Pavillion, Columbia, MARY-land (as John & Simon pronounced it) (#12)
Same set list for both shows. After 24 years, I FINALLY got to hear Last Chance On The Stairway live, even if it wasn't the entire song. I was so anxious to hear it, I couldn't enjoy it the first time because I spent the entire minute & a half thinking, "I'M FINALLY HEARING IT!!!! This is it!!!" and in a flash, it was done. At Merriweather, I just smiled and sang along. Much more enjoyable. I wanted to be sure the guys saw the joy on my face. I wanted to say, 'If you perform this song for the next 20 years, I promise I will never complain about hearing HLTW for the 10 millionth time!'
Didn't try to get the camera into Merriweather. Partly chickened out, partly didn't want to bother. My camera was never going to do justice to the view I had from the 4th row. I watched 10 years worth of O's games through a camera lense. That perspective is too distorted at a concert. I saw most of the camera'd people around me trying to enjoy at rock concert standing still. That must be a slight disappointment from the band's perspective. They are trying to get people to move and they get statues with camera where their faces should be.
Opening act, Your Vegas, were great. The lead singer sounded just like Bono and moved like him too, circa 1982. A Town And Two Cities
My seat at the VERY cold Mann Center was about 20 feet from John Taylor. Which for me is heaven. Only problem was the speakers which blocked most of my view of Roger.
[SIDEBAR: In 7 hours, I will have a bootleg of this show. DIALUP SUCKS! I did consider going out into the hallway and shouting, "Does anyone have a cable connection I can borrow for 5 minutes?!?", but I didn't think that was very neighborly.]
I'm very grateful for this bootleg because I don't remember much from this concert. The show moves VERY fast, even the ballads. There was barely time to catch your breath before they were on the the next tune. Even the "intermission" before the Electro set was only 2 minutes. Just enough time to take drink and a deep breath before the non-stop medley. I'm really not sure why they give Simon a keyboard. I think he hit 5 keys between the 2 shows!
At the beginning of the Electro set, Simon sneezed into his headset mic. The look on his face as part surprise and part 'oops, sorry!'! It was amusing. He also throws the tambourine in the air at the end of "Sunrise". When it came down, it hit him in the nose and rolled off to the side of the stage. He did a better job at Merriweather.
During GOF, Simon plays a little 'copy me' game with the crowd. After about 6 of them, he said, "Do you think this is going somewhere? 'Cause I promise you, it isn't!" and the game continued until the band introductions. This time around, Simon let the entire crowd do his intro. In Philly, he shouted, "What's my name?!?" until the crowd was at fever pitch. At Merriweather it was, "Who's your daddy?!?"
During SAP, virtually everyone in the place held up their cell phone for the "Duran Duran starlight party" as Simon called it. It looked amazing.
{SIDEBAR Part 2: The bootleg is FANTASTIC. Possibly the best one I've ever heard. I've listened to it 10 times already. Now if I can just get the Merriweather show.....}
The new songs sound great live. Especially Tempted. It was very brave of them to start the show with 3 new tunes.
Just before they came on stage at Merriweather, a well-dressed black man sat down next to me. We chatted a little during the show. He was quite friendly. He said he had just come from work because he couldn't let DD be that close and not go see them. When Simon stands at the front of the stage to start the show (about 15 ft away from us), my new friend yelled, "That's Simon 'freaking Le Bon!!!!" and said similar things about John & Nick. He knew all the classics and was singing louder than I was! It was great.
More tidbits as I remember them....
----------------
Now playing: Duran Duran - Red Carpet Massacre
via FoxyTunes
Monday, May 26, 2008
23 hours until #12
From "And Duran Played On" by Lori Majewski
..."'Wasn't six shows enough?' Okay, so let me try and tackle that, if only because you, dear reader, may be faced with it yourself after attending multiple concerts on the Red Carpet Massacre World Tour. No, six is not enough. Nor is 10, nor is 20, nor is 100. There can never be enough Duran Duran shows. For if they suddenly quite playing live, what would become of us? Would we find ourselves old before our time, bitter and jaded - like those unfortunate people we all know we don't have a favorite pop group anymore, whose music purchases consist solely of Now That's What I Call Music collections, and whose attention to their kids' wardrobes eclipse their own?"
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
You've been warned, windshield wiper!
"... they must have tempered my temper because now I only take out my wrath on inanimate objects. Never people. But after all, these objects mustn't be allowed to interfere with our lives, I mean if a telephone is foolish enough to misdial a number for you when you're in a hurry, then the obvious thing to do is to go and get a machete out of your workshop and calmly, but firmly, hack it to pieces, right? We must keep these objects in their places. Don't you agree?... Believe me, this is the only way in which these things will respect you. If you give them an inch they will take a mile."
Micky Dolenz, "I'm A Believer: My Life of Monkees, Music and Madness"
----------------
Now playing: Duran Duran - Union of the Snake (The Monkey Mix)
via FoxyTunes
Micky Dolenz, "I'm A Believer: My Life of Monkees, Music and Madness"
----------------
Now playing: Duran Duran - Union of the Snake (The Monkey Mix)
via FoxyTunes
Friday, May 09, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
22 more days!!!!
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=64219a0b-b92f-4449-ae87-d096e23474f4&k=36786
Young and young at heart dance along to Duran Duran
Young and young at heart dance along to Duran Duran
| The Province |
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
|
If ever there were an argument for style over substance in a band, Birmingham, England's Duran Duran would fit the bill.
The very New Romantic movement that the band sprang from generated so few enduring moments that it's all but forgotten.
But not Duran Duran.
Having written the lion's share of the New Romantic scene's hits, the group remains whereas the Spandau Ballets and Ultravoxes have long vanished. Even if the spotlight turned off on Simon Le Bon's model good looks and primped hair somewhere around 1986, the quintet did recreate itself as lite-funk adult dance rockers in the 1990s and looks to be back in action again with the well-received new CD Red Carpet Massacre.
The Timbaland and Danja-helmed disc is certainly the most relevant piece of music from the band since The Wedding Album and boasts some tunes that could rub epaulets with any other chart-topper that has Timbaland, Danja and Justin Timberlake's mitts on it. While no one in the respectably sized crowd last night cheered louder for "Falling Down" than they did "Planet Earth" and "Hungry Like the Wolf," the new single certainly holds its own with the old material.
And, yes, besides sounding good - they always could play their instruments - the group looked fabulous. A little craggier, a tad filled out, but trés jet set. Even Nick Rhodes, who still has the same Andy Warhol/Vidal Sassoon wedgie-bob 'do that hasn't been seen around these parts since long before the Love Affair played its last dance tune.
The danciness in the band's repertoire certainly connected with the audience.
While it wouldn't be wrong to assume that the house was swayed towards those who were around when the group ruled the U.K. and U.S. charts in the 1980s, it also included a large number of far younger fans. Waxing nostalgic for a hair-jelled and pointy-toed shoe decade that predated their births, they got their boogie on to the radio-ready "Skin Divers" and older hits such as "The Reflex" that spent 10 years in heavy rotation on MuchMusic. So did their parents and grandparents.
Big props to the group of kids in the upper nosebleeds decked out in their vintage-store finery. Rocking everything from Spice Girl Union Jack dresses to silver lamé Members Only jackets, they had the top o' the club speakers 'copter dance moves down to rights. Actually, there really didn't appear to be anyone not having a really good time. The band hammed it up, too.
It's pretty clear that the members are happy to know someone still cares. Le Bon, guitarist Roger Taylor and bassist John Taylor couldn't believe it when the house took over the lyrics to "Save A Prayer."
A welcome surprise was the second "act" where the band reappeared all dressed in black in a line of keyboards and an electro-drum kit to perform Kraftwerk-like techno verisions of hits such as "All She Wants Is" and a cover of that old bondage and discipline ditty "Warm Leatherette." It was a great reminder of how goofy that whole robot-beat presentation was back in the day. Not that it didn't generate some great songs.
After this interlude, "act three." The final round kicked off with the funky "Notorious" and the hits kept coming.
Hmmm, a band able to mess around with old material without marring it. A band with a set list loaded with hits and a new album that isn't some pale imitation of past glories. Dang. There might be some substance here after all.
Grade: B
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
UGH!
There should be a universal list. A list you can sign up for and add all the products, foods or entertainments you love. This list would keep you informed as to if and when these things you love were being retired or discontinued so you had a last chance to stock up.
My list of 'I miss you's':
Yankee Candle Tulip & Vanilla Sandalwood
Loreal Pure Zone Scrub
Salon Selectives hair goop
Cyclops & Conestoga at Hershey Park
Target Nightime Sinus (Thanks Methheads :-P)
Gibby's Restaurant
My list of 'I miss you's':
Yankee Candle Tulip & Vanilla Sandalwood
Loreal Pure Zone Scrub
Salon Selectives hair goop
Cyclops & Conestoga at Hershey Park
Target Nightime Sinus (Thanks Methheads :-P)
Gibby's Restaurant
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Spooky
I opened Media Player this morning to listen to some music. It was setup with my "All Music" playlist, on Shuffle. What is the FIRST song it plays TODAY????.....
The Beatles - Taxman
Freaky!
Freaky!
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Orioles Opening Day 2008
The one GUARANTEED sellout of the season...
Oops. You reap what you sow Orioles.Friday, March 14, 2008
Would Someone Please Explain....
My favorite "Ask Katy" question...
“I noticed on last night’s Set List there was a song called “Encore.” Is that a new song? I’ve never heard it before.”
Let's see...
"Her name is Encore and she dances..." No, that's not it.
"Encore Like The Wolf"? Nah.
"Red Carpet Encore"? Maybe....
“I noticed on last night’s Set List there was a song called “Encore.” Is that a new song? I’ve never heard it before.”
Let's see...
"Her name is Encore and she dances..." No, that's not it.
"Encore Like The Wolf"? Nah.
"Red Carpet Encore"? Maybe....
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Resume Update
If a recent job application we received at work is correct, you are now able to use dead people as references. So, I will be updating my resume to include the following: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln & Diana, Princess of Wales. I just hope I don't have to cover the long distance charges.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Favorite Music list (updated 4/2/08)
First Record Bought:
Le Freak - Chic
First Concert:
Madonna, The Virgin Tour, June 1, 1985, Merriweather Post Pavillion
Favourite Bassist:
John Taylor
Favourite Album Cover:
Duran Duran - Rio
Duran Duran - Duran Duran (The Wedding Album)
Duran Duran - Red Carpet Massacre
Arcadia - So Red The Rose
The Power Station - The Power Station
Favourite Teen Idol:
'70's - Donny Osmond
'80's - Duran Duran
Artist Who Broke Your Heart:
Robert Palmer. He died before I could see him in concert a second time.
Artist You Will Always Believe In:
Duran Duran
Singer Who Makes Your Skin Crawl:
Jimmy Buffett
Singer Who Makes You Swoon:
Simon LeBon
Favourite Sound:
John Taylor Bass solos
Album You Will Always Defend:
Every Duran Duran new release.
Albums You Own That No One Else Does:
Geri Halliwell - Schizophonic; Don Johnson - Heartbeat; Bruce Willis - Return of Bruno
Classic Album You Own but Don't Like:
Born In The USA (Bruce Springsteen)
Artist You're Supposed to Like but Don't:
Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor
Song You Can't Stand by an Artist You Like:
Duran Duran - Femme Fatale
Guilty Pleasure:
Donny & Marie
Favourite Music DVD:
All Duran Duran; Madonna - I'm Going To Tell You A Secret
Concert You Wish You'd Seen: Madonna - The ReInvention Tour; Robert Palmer a second time., John Taylor solo show.
Le Freak - Chic
First Concert:
Madonna, The Virgin Tour, June 1, 1985, Merriweather Post Pavillion
Favourite Bassist:
John Taylor
Favourite Album Cover:
Duran Duran - Rio
Duran Duran - Duran Duran (The Wedding Album)
Duran Duran - Red Carpet Massacre
Arcadia - So Red The Rose
The Power Station - The Power Station
Favourite Teen Idol:
'70's - Donny Osmond
'80's - Duran Duran
Artist Who Broke Your Heart:
Robert Palmer. He died before I could see him in concert a second time.
Artist You Will Always Believe In:
Duran Duran
Singer Who Makes Your Skin Crawl:
Jimmy Buffett
Singer Who Makes You Swoon:
Simon LeBon
Favourite Sound:
John Taylor Bass solos
Album You Will Always Defend:
Every Duran Duran new release.
Albums You Own That No One Else Does:
Geri Halliwell - Schizophonic; Don Johnson - Heartbeat; Bruce Willis - Return of Bruno
Classic Album You Own but Don't Like:
Born In The USA (Bruce Springsteen)
Artist You're Supposed to Like but Don't:
Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor
Song You Can't Stand by an Artist You Like:
Duran Duran - Femme Fatale
Guilty Pleasure:
Donny & Marie
Favourite Music DVD:
All Duran Duran; Madonna - I'm Going To Tell You A Secret
Concert You Wish You'd Seen: Madonna - The ReInvention Tour; Robert Palmer a second time., John Taylor solo show.
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