Crescendo

DURAN DURAN
July 13, 2005 - UNO Lakefront Arena
New Orleans, LA
story by Ritchie Champagne

In the mid-80s, drummer Roger Taylor left the band, followed soon after by guitarist Andy Taylor. The remaining members, vocalist Simon LeBon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, and bassist John Taylor soldiered on for a few years before Taylor also bowed out, whittling the band down to a duo. For me, the band ended with the dissolution of the original quintet. My sister continued to be faithful to the band, buying their albums and attending their shows, but I couldn’t be bothered. It just wasn’t the same anymore. Needless to say, I was very happy to hear that in 2004, the original lineup had reunited, released an album of new material, and returned to the road, touring the world. We wasted no time making the ten minute drive to the Lakefront Arena. We arrived just minutes after the opening act finished their set. In the time it took to get to our seats, we met up with about a dozen people we knew and spotted a few others in the crowd.

When the lights go out in the Arena, thousands of aged Durannies leapt out of their seats and roared their approval. On the dark stage, five familiar shapes form a line at the very front edge of the stage. Flashing lights provided fleeting glimpses of the band members, driving the crowd wilder with each passing second. One by one, the musicians headed off to their respective instruments. When everyone was in place, the stage lit up and the show began with (Reach Up For The) Sunrise, which also begins the new CD, Astronaut.

During the frenzied applause that followed, LeBon asked, “Is anybody hungry?” The audience became even more frenzied as the band kicked into the US breakthrough hit Hungry Like The Wolf. Frequently, the band was augmented by two additional personnel: Anna Ross on backing vocals and Andy Hamilton on saxophone.

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