Duran Duran Roll Out the “Red Carpet” and Draw Trump, Olsen Twin to Broadway
11/5/07, 3:12 pm EST

The name Duran Duran conjures many images, most of which aren’t dated past 1986, from skinny ties to copious amounts of lip gloss to awkward dancing. All three were fabulously in full effect Friday night as a wildly diverse New York crowd that included Donald Trump and an Olsen twin welcomed the band to Broadway’s intimate Ethyl Barrymore Theatre, where the group is in the midst of a nine-night run promoting their latest record, Red Carpet Massacre.

Broken down into three Broadway-style “acts,” Duran Duran kicked off the show playing their new album in its entirety, showing off their new repertoire’s Timbaland and Danja-enhanced beats, which came off as the most relevant and consistent body of music they have put together in a long time. Despite a couple of snoozers like “Box Full O’ Honey,” the packed house — which was filled Eighties enthusiasts in addition to the famous faces — rarely left their feet. Tracks like “Nite Runner” and “Skin Divers” provided the most impressive rump-shakers of the evening, complete with ersatz versions of Timbaland and what appeared to be a pop-locking dominatrix.

After an intermission and a costume change, the group returned to the stage for the brief “techno” portion of the evening, which saw four of the five original members (founding guitarist Andy Taylor bowed out in 2006) standing in Kraftwerk-ian formation behind keyboards and an electronic drum set. Modified versions of classics followed with “I Don’t Want Your Love” and “All She Wants Is” as well as an impressive cover of “Warm Leatherette” setting the tone for what was to follow: an avalanche of hits.

With a full brass section in tow, the band quickly returned to more traditional bass/drums/guitar set-up (guitarist Dominic Brown subbed for Andy Taylor) and ripped through “Notorious,” “The Reflex” and “A View to a Kill.” Simon Le Bon shimmied and goaded the crowd, showing off his charming showmanship and the band never let their energy dip. And when they broke out the biggest mover of the night, “Planet Earth,” even the Donald managed to sway in time.

Setlist for 11/02/2007

Red Carpet Massacre Set:
The Valley
Red Carpet Massacre
Nite Runner
Falling Down
Box Full O’ Honey
Skin Divers
Tempted
Tricked Out
Zoom In
She’s Too Much
Dirty Great Monster
Last Man Standing

Techno Set:
Showroom Dummies
Last Chance on the Stairway
All She Wants Is
Warm Leatherette
I Don’t Want Your Love
Skin Trade

“Hits” Set
Notorious
The Reflex
I Take the Dice
Ordinary World
Planet Earth
A View to a Kill
Sunrise

Encore
Girls on Film

Ryan Rayhill

Courtesy Rollingstone.com