The Concert

When I woke up yesterday with a knot in my upper back that got progressively worse throughout the morning I knew it was going to be a rough day. I have had this before.... probably a combination of not paying attention to my posture and not taking enough stretching breaks while crafting... so I immediately started on advil, essential oils, muscle relaxers, hot shower, ice packs. Nothing would budge it. I tried to rest before concert time and hubby was generous to try some massaging. Still no relief. But off I went anyway. I couldn't miss this concert!! Duran Duran. I'd liked them since high school but had never seen them perform and since my girlfriend's friend was driving, I was determined to go and have FUN! And let me tell you how much FUN it was!!!!

The opening band was 'Your Vegas', a rock band from Leeds, England. They were decent. The singer was nursing a broken foot but still pulled out a good set anyway. It was the drummer's birthday so it must be pretty cool to perform and have all that good energy on your special day. :)

Duran was AMAZING!

I hadn't been listening to them lately so didn't know too much of their new album, or even the last one quite frankly. I mean, you know the main tracks that get radio time, but to dig in and enjoy a whole cd is something I hadn't done in awhile. And apparently, their guitarist, Andy Taylor, had quit the band about a year and a half ago. Who knew.... well, not me anyway.
So while I did get a chance this morning to visit Amazon and listen some to what I'd missed of them recently, I think it's all those hits from the '80's that still define this band. Their newer work is certainly good. Any band that is around for almost 30 years is a band that loves music and enjoys performing. And it shows. Their latest album was in collaboration with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake. It has some great beats and they did play a few tracks to start the show, but classic Duran is what had everyone off on their trip down memory lane last night.
Planet Earth was TERRIFIC!!! Everyone was singing and dancing. Well, except for those few who were dragged along by a friend and were hoping word wouldn't get out they were actually at a Duran show. We had one of those guys with us. Try as he might, it just wasn't his thing. After a few beers and seeing and feeling our enthusiam, he lightened up and appreciated the energy.
The Reflex ROCKED, as if it could go any other way. Other songs included.... Ordinary World, View to a Kill, Notorious, Skin Trade, All She Wants Is, Wild Boys, Reach up for the Sunrise, She's Come Undone, Hungry Like the Wolf, and a couple others. Of course every band has that one song where lighters (or in modern times, cell phones) come out and are held up. Save a Prayer was theirs. Totally.freaking.awesome! And when John Taylor said something like... Philadelphia, get ready for your close up.... we knew it was time for Girls on Film. AHHHHHH, I need more adjectives.... magnificent, splendid, first-rate, superb!!!! Are you getting it??? Were we having FUN, or what??!!!! During Girls, Simon introduced the band.
For back up on alot of songs they have a female singer, also a saxophone player, a new guitarist, and of course the 4 main members. Everyone LUVS John Taylor, the hottie bassist! Some girls down in front were screaming 'play the funky (or was it f*#king) bass John'. To think he was kind of a shy kid with the first name of Nigel before co-founding the band with Nick Rhodes, the keyboardist.
Nick has actually always been my favorite member!!! I think he owns the rights to the bands name. Also, he discovered Kajagoogoo, that fun band from the '80's who did the song Too Shy. He changed his name from Nicholas Bates to Nick Rhodes (after the Greek island) early on. In the mid-80's while Duran was on a break, he formed 'Arcadia' with Simon LeBon and Roger Taylor, D's drummer. And here he is. Cutie, eh??

The finale to last night's show was 'Rio' and of course that was SUPER! Duran Duran is a lot of fun to see live. They obviously love performing and put on a great show. Other than during a couple quick breaks no one sat down during this concert. It was constant good energy. And yes, despite my wrenched back (which is still giving me some grief today) I still managed to dance! Maybe not as good as in high school, you know, before all the aches and pains started setting in. But let's face it, I'm wayyyy past those days and still managed to have a rocking night! Half a glass of wine before we left did help take the edge off but I'm off now to find that bottle of muscle relaxers and chill out for the rest of the day.

The party rocks on, only instead of with Simon, Nick, John, Roger, and Co. it'll be in my bed with the Travel Channel, a couple cooking shows and maybe today's episode of The Young and the Restless. Hey, give the old gal a break, life of a domestic Goddess has many facets to it.

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend!!!