Guest Review: Musikfest Preview Night with Duran Duran August 6, 2015 Sands Steel Stage by Janis Smith, a devoted Duranie
A beautiful summer evening at Steel Stacks in Bethlehem, PA along the river can only be improved by a Duran Duran show. This was a much anticipated show for this Duranie, whose last Duran Duran concert was at DPAC on August 21, 2012. My stomach had butterflies, and I was trying very hard to keep my composure. However, I could not resist kissing the image of my favorite sexy front-man, Simon Le Bon, on a banner that hung on the fence at the venue. I was also really looking forward to meeting the Duranies I have interacted with on twitter in person. I met my twitter ‘peeps’ outside the gate entrance of the venue, where the band would enter. We felt like a bunch of school girls. It was nice to see them in the flesh, and to actually hear them speak. Of course, most of our conversation while we waited for Duran Duran to arrive was about our “boys”. We had hopes and dreams of being able to see them arriving at the venue, with their windows down. The first SUV finally came, and in it were Dom and Anna, who started waving to us as they drove by with the windows down. It was so exciting! Unfortunately, theirs was the SUV vehicle that contained open windows and band members who were willing to greet the crowd of fans; others drove by with their tinted windows up. Oh well, it was time to head to the show anyway! I reached my seat at the venue with much excitement, and once I saw the lights go down and the intro music played my heart and body leaped for joy. Once Duran Duran stepped out on stage, I could feel their powerful presence. The crowd was clearly in awe, seeing Duran Duran perform – there was much screaming. They opened with “Wild Boys,” and the hoard of enthusiastic fans immediately started singing and dancing their hearts out. The band looked and sounded amazing. The stage was full of lights, smoke, videos, and iconic imagery and designs that lasted the full evening. The set list had a nice mix of their songs, from old to new, but I was really looking forward to hearing “Election Day,” which they chose not to perform at this show. Although I do love their cover of “White Lines,” it was played on their AYNIN tour, and I felt it was time to let that one go, and perform another Duran Duran song. It was such a pleasure to hear “Pressure Off,” from their soon to be released album “Paper Gods,” (rather than hearing it from my cellphone) and to hear it in its entirety. I can’t wait to hear the rest of the album! While I loved the show and was so happy to see ‘my boys’ again, there were two disappointments for me and for others as well. The first disappointment was that the lines for the Duran Duran merchandise were extremely long, and there should have been two stations, instead of one. I waited a good 45 minutes to an hour, only to find out the two shirts I wanted to purchase either were not in my size, or were sold out. Unfortunately, I walked away with no t-shirt at all, feeling frustrated. The second disappointment was that they only played for an hour and a half, roughly. I know it could not have been from the lack of material! Not sure what the reasoning was behind that. – Editor’s note: due to the fact that this show was played at an outdoor venue, the shorter than usual concert length may have been down to local curfew rules. In spite of this, Duran Duran took their audience beyond their wildest dreams, as always. It was an absolute “Steeler” show, and I was on my feet the whole time. I love this band and their music: they have given me life, and have saved my life. Forever I will be truly grateful, that is my promise. I’m looking forward to seeing them in the future, at several shows, and meeting more Duranies. |