WEB EXCLUSIVE: Fans were ‘hungry’ for Duran Duran blends old and new, satisfies everyone

Shelley Blundell

Credit: Beth Rankin

“Cleveland, Ohio, are you hungry?” screamed Simon Le Bon at the beginning of Tuesday night’s Duran Duran concert.

The concert, held at the Cleveland State’s Convocation Center, saw an eclectic blend of audience members, ranging from six to 60. Some chose comfortable attire for the evening while others chose traditional 80’s fare — garish make-up, huge earrings and tulle-encrusted skirts in honor of the 80’s band.

But while Duran Duran’s earlier work is still the firm favorite with most fans, the newer album, Astronaut, is quickly winning appeal among their listeners.

Beginning the concert with the latest album’s breakout hit, “Sunrise,” many audience members sang along with as much fervor as they did to older classics such as “Hungry Like the Wolf” and “Save a Prayer.”

Continuing the concert with a blend of old and new, the band also performed new songs “Nice” and “Chains,” as well as the latest single, “What Happens Tomorrow.”

Despite positive response to new material, however, it was the band’s older tunes that won the most applause and audience participation.

Delighting fans with blood-pumping versions of “Notorious” and “Planet Earth,” the band also paid homage to friends and long-time Duran Duran loyalists by playing “Ordinary World” and Rio’s “The Chauffeur.”

Opening band VHS or Beta did much to build crowd anticipation for the event. Songs such as “Night on Fire” amplified the growing sense of new wave nostalgia among the audience, and the band received an extremely positive response from audience members.

But it was Duran Duran the audience was there to see.

The concert ended with older hits “Girls on Film” and “Rio,” and although the audience members were reluctant to go home, it did seem as if their temporary trip back through time had been everything they hoped it would be.

Contact general assignment reporter Shelley Blundell at [email protected].