So it's a new year and what better way to welcome it than by attending a live and exclusive gig in Londontown?
Last night I attended a BBC Radio 2-taped free concert by Duran Duran at Hammersmith Palais, a small little nightclub that the band played back in 1982, really before the cusp of worldwide fame grabbed them by the danglies. That show as well was taped for radio broadcast.
Apart from the obvious highlight of seeing the band in a 3,000-odd capacity venue (and how many fans can say that - unless they attended the Big Thing Tour in 1989?), it was awesome to see the band continue to trot out the older tracks. Too many bands with a history similar to Duran's continue to tour a greatest hits package year after year.
Credit due to Duran, though. They've been listening to the fans who continually ask for older b-sides and obscure album tracks to be added to the set lists. Last night was the first time in many, many years that the band played "Hold Back The Rain", a standout track from the Rio album, which I have personally never heard live.
This can be added to other non-greatest hits tracks from the last couple of tours; stuff like "(Waiting For The) Nightboat" and "Friends Of Mine", and for the lucky few who got to see it's live debut "Tiger Tiger".
Great gig, welcome introduction to 2005 for those of us there, and I can't wait to see us singing along to "Notorious", "Ordinary World" and "Rio" when the concert is played on the radio later this month.
Set List
1. FINEST HOUR
2. HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF
3. HOLD BACK THE RAIN
4. WANT YOU MORE
5. UNION OF THE SNAKE
6. WHAT HAPPENS TOMORROW
7. CHAINS
8. ASTRONAUT
9. ORDINARY WORLD
10. SAVE A PRAYER
11. BEDROOM TOYS
12. NOTORIOUS
13. REFLEX
14. NICE
15. (REACH UP FOR THE) SUNRISE
16. WILD BOYS
Encore
17. GIRLS ON FILM
18. RIO
