Words & Photos by M.J. Rawls
Pop-Break Live: Duran Duran at BB&T Pavilion in Camden, NJ
The lights became dim and the smoke reached a thick layer as the background screen lit up with the members of Duran Duran’s faces during the opening moments of “Paper Gods” – the title song from their 2015 album of the same name. Active since 1978 and with 70 million records sold, there is a unfledged and spry feeling at a Duran Duran show. There are so much of the band’s catalog that is ingrained within pop culture and multiple musical genres. One key to musical longevity is to be ahead of the curve – to constantly strive to have the ebb and flows adapt to you, rather you to it.
Chic featuring Nile Rodgers was the perfect prelude to the throwback machine which was the concert. A set that saw classic songs like: “I Want Your Love,” “Le Freak,” and “Good Times,” intertwined with Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family” and the famous “Get Lucky” collaboration with Daft Punk. Within the show, there was a concurrent admiration for David Bowie. Chic started it off with “Let’s Dance” and that would later continue with Duran Duran’s brief stint of “Space Oddity.” If you needed a good introduction of the continual dance party that was going to go on for more than two hours, Chic was it.
Going into the show, it’s impossible not to know a ton of Duran Duran songs. If you don’t know a full song – you at least know a chorus. Unfortunately, keyboardist Nick Rhodes was not able to attend, but opening DJ Tokimonsta filled in nicely on the keyboards. This was one of the most fun concerts of the summer. Bellowing of “Hungry Like The Wolf,” chants of “Get Higher Baby” during “White Lines”, and the echoes of “Notorious” were a couple of examples of the good times that rang throughout the BB&T Pavilion. It was a party indeed and lead singer Simon Le Bon was as charismatic and on pitch as ever. The crowd was mostly filled of older parents who needed a night out to forgot about the arguments and ills of the work day. This was the perfect time to wrap your arms around your loved one and sing.
Duran Duran Setlist:
Paper Gods
The Wild Boys
Hungry Like the Wolf
A View to a Kill
Come Undone
Last Night in the City
What Are the Chances?
Notorious (with Nile Rodgers)
Pressure Off (with Nile Rodgers)
Planet Earth (with “Space Oddity” by David Bowie snippet)
Ordinary World
I Don’t Want Your Love
White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It) (Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel cover)
(Reach Up for the) Sunrise (with “New Moon on Monday” snippet)
The Reflex
Girls on Film
Encore:
Save a Prayer
Rio
