Duran Duran

I never heard such loud cheering at Chevrolet Amphitheatre. And Duran Duran deserved every decibel of it.

Indeed, Duran Duran, those 1980s pretty-boy pop stars, brought the rock on Tuesday, delighting 3,666 fans with a skilled and visually dazzling performance for the first Pittsburgh stop on the band's two-year comeback odyssey.

With every blistering guitar stroke, it was if Andy Taylor was apologizing for those cheesy '80s videos for "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Rio" (songs that appeared second and in the encore, respectively).

Roger Taylor's drum kit had an icy cool synthesized sound, which provided a knockout punch to 1984 hit "The Wild Boys" and last year's uplifting "Sunrise."

A crowd of mostly 30-somethings gave warm receptions to songs from the quintet's 2004 "Astronaut" disc, though naturally it was sexier '80s hits such as "A View to a Kill" and "Notorious" that got fans dancing in the aisles and on their seats.

Speaking of sexy, the Duran Duran lads have aged well, or so I'm told, with singer Simon LeBon earning awes in three outfits - a glittery silver jacket over a black shirt, later followed by a tight red shirt, then a shabby chic T-shirt for the encore.

Remembering they were in Pittsburgh, the Brits dedicated their first encore song, "Girls on Film," to Andy Warhol, as a video backdrop showed artsy images of runway models accompanied to the sound effect of clicking cameras.

Partway through the song, LeBon gave well-earned introductions to his mates, including keyboardist Nick Rhodes and superb bassist John Taylor.

LeBon plucked a lucky girl from the front row to introduce him. She did a good job, too, earning a thunderous response by calling LeBon the world's greatest singer.

Courtesy Allegheny Times