Concert Review: Duran Duran - All You Need is Now is Right on Time - Page 3
But they do know Duran Duran well... well enough to start screaming "Play the fucking bass John!" before Simon Le Bon had gotten the ball rolling, prompting him to raise an eyebrow at their cheekiness and hold the mic out over their heads before joining in. The "Play the fucking bass John!" chant is now available as a ringtone, by the way. I love that.
Most people have heard "Play the fucking bass John" before, of course. A Duran Duran staple that has grown to cult status, sort of Duran Duran meets Rocky Horror Picture Show, but I bet you've never heard it like this... Yeah. Atlanta rocks! And John did play the fucking bass--he was incredible! A Taste of Honey? Didn't see that coming.
Duran Duran - Play The Fucking Bass John! Live - Concert Highlight
It was a beautiful thing to share this concert experience with the next generation of Duran Duran fans, to share in their new-found bliss. An honor really, to be able to see this band whose music is so much a part of the soundtrack of my own life through their eyes.
For them there is no past. No history. They know as much about the craziness of the Duran Duran fame machine as I know of Beatlemania. Pictures really, scenes captured on film, but what that kind of pressure-cooker does to a band internally, when the "band" itself becomes an entity so powerful, so huge, that it can no longer be controlled. Well, that can't be captured in photos.
When the pressure gets too overwhelming some members may choose to escape physically, unable to cope with the chaos. Others may try to escape creatively, perhaps not conscious that they are doing so, but it is reflected in the music--it moves so far from where it began, and so quickly. Most bands implode. The vagaries of fame, impossible expectations, softly spoken criticisms that can drown out the roar of thousands of fans: they're like mental Maenads, ripping and tearing at the creative connection until they can no longer hear one another. And then a member leaves... the slamming of the door sounds eerily like a death knell.
It's certainly a testament to the character of Nick Rhodes and Simon Le Bon that Duran Duran is still here and more musically profound than ever. They just headlined Ultra Music Festival for God's sake. Something like 100,000 people from all over the world descended on Florida to watch Duran Duran perform the show I just reviewed. That's the kind of power Duran Duran is packing outside of our hallowed borders.
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