Review: In Tampa, Duran Duran and friends indulge in flashy, ’80s time warp [PHOTOS]

If someone casually mentions how Duran Duran has been a thing for over 40 years, no one would blame you for feeling old as shit. You would think that swooning over John Taylor’s figure at this point in time would be a bit unorthodox, and that Simon Le Bon is surely lip-syncing at least some of the synth ditties that once dominated the charts.

But actually, while longevity was definitely an elephant in the room at Tampa's Amalie Arena last Saturday night, the English new-wave pioneers didn’t sound dated at all, and managed to stage an ‘80s fever dream while also keeping it as current and relevant as possible. Drummer Roger Taylor (we’ve been over this: Not the car-fixated founding member of Queen) still has a headful of hair and a just-as-dreamy drum kit. Meanwhile, keyboardist Nick Rhodes still remains propped up on stage left with his rig of Rolands upon Rolands, and backing singers Anna Ross and Rachael O’Connor are either harmonizing with Le Bon, or howling out those high notes that he can’t quite reach anymore. Or both.

An opening sequence that began just before 9:10 p.m. showed the remaining original members landing in a futuristic, utterly empty city together via spaceship. In seconds, the scene was empty, and the silhouettes of the remaining Taylors (Andy is down with stage four prostate cancer), Le Bon, and Rhodes stood side by side—like a stereotypical boy-band of sorts—on a platform atop some stairs for about 20 seconds, and then took their places to open with “Night Boat.” Le Bon—clad in a white blazer and shiny silver pants, and still rocking a small hoop in his ear—stayed where he was on the platform, but when coming down the stairs mid-song, he minimally but still noticeably stumbled a wee bit, as if he actually were taking his first steps on solid ground after space travel.

The "Wild Boys" introduced themselves through song, fans were reminded that “A View to a Kill” was a James Bond theme song—and not just another no. 1 hit—and while introducing “Hungry Like The Wolf,” Simon Le Bon made some sort of obligatory alligator remark. Man, remember the days when Florida was only known for tourism, heat, and alligators? Good times.

After the funk of “Notorious” took us back to an ‘80s disco that would have stuck out like a sore thumb, hit single time was over. For a few minutes, anyway.

“Scary baby time,” Le Bon declared. “Lonely In Your Nightmare,” originally off of Rio, hasn’t been performed live on the regular since 1982, and these days, it segues into Rick James’ “Super Freak,” just because. And “Is There Something I Should Know”—the band’s first-ever no. 1 hit in the U.K.—is still performed in its original key, with almost-perfect backing vocals from O’Connor and Ross.

Twice did the band dive into its most recent album Future Past, described by critics as a return to its Rio roots. And with the stories about how the band is currently making another LP—this time, reunited with Andy Taylor—this current run of shows may be the only time we get to hear “Give It All Up” or “Anniversary” live. The last time Duran Duran was in town—at the ol’ Gary in April 2016—the band was in its Paper Gods era, and actually went out of its way to give the record massive prominence in the setlist. But since that run of shows, Paper Gods seems to have devolved into a distant memory.
Once Le Bon dedicated “Ordinary World” to the citizens of Ukraine facing “unspeakable terror of a bullying, tyrannical figure,” pretty much everything else in his band’s set was wall-to-wall hits. On Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel’s “White Lines (Don’t Do It),” Le Bon slurped a water bottle before throwing the cap into the crowd, followed by the mostly-full bottle. “Girls On Film” blended pretty smoothly together with Calvin Harris’ “Acceptable in the 80s,” but still left us wondering what exactly it was that wasn’t frowned upon during the Reagan years.

And before closing up with “Rio,” Le Bon—now donning a Tampa Bay Lightning jersey with the band name on the back, picked up a black acoustic guitar for the first time all night, ran through an electric sing-along of “Save A Prayer,” encouraging fans to “reach down to wherever [they kept] this most precious thing, and whip it out.” Cell phone flashlights, that is.

Even the sexiest synth-poppers to ever come out of England understand that there was much more to ‘80s music than catchy hooks, neon jackets, and MTV, though. And their example has even been on the road with them before.

Nile Rodgers and Chic had a major influence on Duran Duran’s sound and direction, having even produced them a handful of times in the 1980s. During the 9-piece ensemble’s 45-minute long opening set—mainly comprised of songs the legendary producer worked on for other artists, and a handful of Chic cuts—72-year-old Rodgers was the only guitarist onstage, wielding nothing but his trademark white Strat, while dressed in a pink bell-bottom suit. While lead vocalists Kimberly Davis and Audrey Martells won the crowd’s disco jivers over with a barrage of powerhouse vocals, you still couldn’t knock Rodgers’ boogie. He would occasionally join in on backing vocals, and even performed his original rhythm guitar section on a version of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”—a song that shares the name of the album he produced for the late Starman—which was unfortunately tuned out by drummer Ralph Rolle’s hyping-up-the-crowd yelling in between lyrics.

Sandwiched in between its influences—oddly enough—was British indie-pop outfit Bastille, comparatively fresh-faced, humbled to be on the tour it’s on, and once nominated for a “Best New Artist” Grammy award. Lead singer Dan Smith’s bona fide vocals—paired with lower harmonies from keyboardist Kyle Simmons’—swung onstage with “Good Grief,” which opened the band’s sophomore album, Wild World. Before closing the strobe-lit act with “Pompeii,” Smith also taught the crowd the chorus to “Shut Off The Lights,” which wasn’t known by the general public the last time he was in town, at the 2021 iteration of 97X Next Big Thing.

And, 2023 marks 10 years since “Pompeii” first made airwaves, so in terms of feeling old, you’re not alone, my Durannie friend.