Duran Duran
Tuesday, 30 July 2024
Pula / Arena Pula / Croatia
- LeBon has developed a pretty solid dad bod in recent years.
- The new version of New Moon on Monday isn’t really my thing.
- The White Lines cover cooled things down a bit.
- The camera operator had absolutely no idea who was who in the band, and during Simon‘s introduction of the group was consistently pointing the camera at the wrong members — or nobody at all. And completely missed the legendary “Play the fuckin’ bass, John” bit.
And that — believe it or not — is everything I could find to nitpick about the legendary Duran Duran concert at Arena Pula on 30 July 2024.
We headed out with a crew of friends in the morning, survived the worst of the heat at one of Pula’s beaches, properly hydrated inside and out, and arrived at the Arena firing on all cylinders. We threw a proper old-school parking lot party, had a laugh with the bar staff, and linked up with the Rockline crew.
Since most Duran Duran fans are already in their fifties, getting into the venue was a remarkably civilized affair — no shoving, no chaos. The Arena was full, but not sold out (tickets were still on sale on the day).
Only Duran Duran could get away with opening a concert with the slow-crawling, gloomy, melancholic Night Boat — dressed up in even more despair for modern ears than on the debut. Most of the crowd had no idea what was going on, but the Duranies quickly cut through the awkwardness with a triple shot of mega-hits (The Wild Boys, Hungry Like the Wolf, and A View to a Kill), and the Arena exploded. Simon introduced “the wolf” with his trademark dry wit, asking us whether we’d already wolfed down the octopus salad and washed it down with some rakija, or whether we were maybe still… hungry like the wolf? My wife was seriously taken with Simon‘s looks and stage presence, so I was at least able to console myself about that dad bod from the intro.
The Duranies know exactly what people come to their shows for, so they delivered all the big hits — minus Union of the Snake and Is There Something I Should Know. The sound was absolutely fantastic, the lighting effects and background animations were impressive, and the backdrop of the last rays of sunlight cutting through the arches of the amphitheatre was simply breathtaking. Simon LeBon seemed a little tired at first and his voice was slightly hoarse out of the gate, but he grew noticeably — both vocally and physically — with every song. The band lineup mirrored the legendary “As the Lights Go Down” concert video: the five-piece (this time still Dom Brown in place of Andy Taylor), two powerhouse backing vocalists, and a saxophonist. The only thing missing was the funny percussionist.
The flow of the concert was only occasionally broken by something more recent — Invisible from the Future Past album, and the excellent Super Lonely Freak from the latest album Danse Macabre. And tucked inside Girls on Film was a cover of Psycho Killer, also from Danse Macabre (Rockline review).
The crowd went absolutely wild for the one-two punch of The Wedding Album hits, Ordinary World and Come Undone. In the latter, one of the backing vocalists absolutely shone, delivering one of the evening’s highlights alongside Simon — an incredible performance of Simon‘s tribute to his wife Yasmin, one that has undoubtedly earned him an unlimited supply of brownie points.
I was genuinely thrilled to see New Moon on Monday back in the set, but this — modernised — version just didn’t do it for me. At least they kept the chorus intact…
A setlist packing five tracks each from the debut and Rio took care of all the hardcore fans, and I count myself firmly among them. The sounds of the grand, melancholic The Chauffeur slowly wove their way through the crowd, warming the hearts of everyone who isn’t a stone-cold serial killer. The cult classic from the debut, Friends of Mine, visibly baffled the more casual fans and nearly brought me to tears. Careless Memories — which sounds almost metal live — whipped up the atmosphere and announced a mega second half of the concert, with the White Lines cover offering a brief vocal cool-down while also serving as the calm before the stormy four-song finale.
And that was it — the crowd completely lost it. If you don’t know the combination of The Reflex, Girls on Film, Save a Prayer, and Rio, that’s on you. The band was in a trance; even Nick stopped staring at his phone and played two whole notes with more than one finger. A fantastic end to a fantastic concert.
In short — like someone had delivered the golden eighties straight to your living room. Top-quality art pop, polished to perfection. Outstanding performances from every single member. Nick, of course, didn’t break a sweat — because from day one he has conjured all the sequences, loops, samples, rhythmic beds, and sonic landscapes from his machinery with the flick of a single finger. Playback, some cry. BMK, say the rest of us… John is, of course, a world-class bassist who has always been the backbone of the Duran sound, whether through his super-intricate funky patterns or his deceptively simple bass lines. Roger, with his disco sixteenth-notes on the hi-hat, didn’t miss a single accent, and didn’t shift his backside so much as a millimeter from his stool. And Simon was pure Simon. In the early 2000s there were times he could disappoint vocally at a live show, but he’s pulled himself together, and I have to say — this is genuinely a vocalist who has taken his, let’s be honest, very limited vocal range absolutely as far as it will go. He’s remarkable.
For a full 10/10 I’d have needed to hear at least one of the classic duo Shadows on Your Side or Hold Back the Rain, so this concert earns a 9.9/10. A sublime romantic, new-wave dance experience. And now, vocal cords — you’re on vacation for a few days.
Honorable mention: Simon‘s pink leather jacket, which I want as a birthday present!!!
text: Igorac
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik, Igorac & Edita Klemen
Setlist:
1. VELVET NEWTON (taped intro)
2. Night Boat
3. The Wild Boys
4. Hungry Like the Wolf
5. The James Bond Theme (orig. John Barry)
6. A View to a Kill
7. INVISIBLE
8. Notorious
9. Lonely in Your Nightmare / Super Freak (AKA SUPER LONELY FREAK)
10. Friends of Mine
11. Careless Memories
12. The Chauffeur
13. Ordinary World
14. Come Undone
15. New Moon on Monday
16. Planet Earth
17. (Reach Up for the) Sunrise
18, White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It) (orig. Grandmaster Melle Mel)
19. The Reflex
20. Girls on Film / Psycho Killer (orig. Talking Heads) / Girls on Film
—encore—
21. Save a Prayer
22. Rio
