Post by ©DURANMANIA Board Team on Mar 9, 2005 19:08:55 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]A weekend of Duran Duran and Oscars [/glow]
Janet Susan R. Nepales, Mar 09, 2005
LOS ANGELES — “You are so California! You are all so nice!”
That was Duran Duran’s front man Simon LeBon talking, as he acknowledged the warm and receptive welcome of the full house crowd at the Staples Center here in the City of Angels.
The ‘80s band, which reunited after 20 years, sold out the LA stopover of their concert tour. “MTV’s first gods of video,” as the Hollywood Reporter called the group, played many songs from their reunion CD last year, “Astronaut.”<br>
We were surprised to see that the Duraniacs or Duranies, as their fans are called, have stayed devoted all these years. On our way to the Staples Center, a couple of girls called the radio station 98.7 and requested “Rio,” one of Duran Duran’s early hits, because, they shrieked, “we are on our way to watch the group!”<br>
Inside the cavernous Staples Center, the sea of humanity cheered, swayed, hugged, danced and sang to the reunited band’s pop, funk and retro music. The band members, who helped make synthetic sound popular, were suavely attired in black suits, neckties and white shirts.
They opened with “(Reach Up for the) Sunrise” to a frenzied audience who screamed with adoration at every number of the group.
Composed of LeBon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Andy Taylor and Roger Taylor, the band teased the energetic crowd with their danceable and popular “Hungry like the Wolf.” Using a big screen to flash Japanese anime characters of the band members or retro art of the ‘80s, the group used the old reliable laser lights and fog machines to evoke the ambiance of that decade.
When the band did some of their signature pieces, “Save a Prayer” and “Hold Back the Rain,” the audience immediately pulled out their mini flashlights (or cell phones and lighters) and waved the tiny lights for dramatic effect. The enthusiastic fans did this almost hypnotically to the group’s lilting sounds.
Guitarist Andy Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor occasionally had the spotlights to themselves as they jammed to the delight and screams of the crowd when they did “Notorious.” Keyboardist and dreamboat Nick Rhodes kept his cool in “The Chauffeur” while heartthrob John Taylor strutted in his tight leather pants, titillating the ladies in the audience.
It was truly a night of euphoria for the the Duraniacs, the Duranies and the newly born Duranites.
*** for the complete article + the Oscars: www.philippinenews.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=44717ede78b135aad5270024cba35814
Janet Susan R. Nepales, Mar 09, 2005
LOS ANGELES — “You are so California! You are all so nice!”
That was Duran Duran’s front man Simon LeBon talking, as he acknowledged the warm and receptive welcome of the full house crowd at the Staples Center here in the City of Angels.
The ‘80s band, which reunited after 20 years, sold out the LA stopover of their concert tour. “MTV’s first gods of video,” as the Hollywood Reporter called the group, played many songs from their reunion CD last year, “Astronaut.”<br>
We were surprised to see that the Duraniacs or Duranies, as their fans are called, have stayed devoted all these years. On our way to the Staples Center, a couple of girls called the radio station 98.7 and requested “Rio,” one of Duran Duran’s early hits, because, they shrieked, “we are on our way to watch the group!”<br>
Inside the cavernous Staples Center, the sea of humanity cheered, swayed, hugged, danced and sang to the reunited band’s pop, funk and retro music. The band members, who helped make synthetic sound popular, were suavely attired in black suits, neckties and white shirts.
They opened with “(Reach Up for the) Sunrise” to a frenzied audience who screamed with adoration at every number of the group.
Composed of LeBon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Andy Taylor and Roger Taylor, the band teased the energetic crowd with their danceable and popular “Hungry like the Wolf.” Using a big screen to flash Japanese anime characters of the band members or retro art of the ‘80s, the group used the old reliable laser lights and fog machines to evoke the ambiance of that decade.
When the band did some of their signature pieces, “Save a Prayer” and “Hold Back the Rain,” the audience immediately pulled out their mini flashlights (or cell phones and lighters) and waved the tiny lights for dramatic effect. The enthusiastic fans did this almost hypnotically to the group’s lilting sounds.
Guitarist Andy Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor occasionally had the spotlights to themselves as they jammed to the delight and screams of the crowd when they did “Notorious.” Keyboardist and dreamboat Nick Rhodes kept his cool in “The Chauffeur” while heartthrob John Taylor strutted in his tight leather pants, titillating the ladies in the audience.
It was truly a night of euphoria for the the Duraniacs, the Duranies and the newly born Duranites.
*** for the complete article + the Oscars: www.philippinenews.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=44717ede78b135aad5270024cba35814