Duran Duran – Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam 31/5/05

When John was about to be introduced someone in the audience threw a t-shirt on stage that said ‘Play The Fucking Bass John’, (she’d probably been keeping it in her fanny pack)

 

 

 

 

When John was about to be introduced someone in the audience threw a t-shirt on stage that said ‘Play The Fucking Bass John’, (she’d probably been keeping it in her fanny pack)

 

 

 

 

‘Dude, you are SO not standing in front of me.’ That’s what I said to a tall long-haired Dutch guy who stood in front of me moments before Duran Duran were about to go on stage. What had happened to me? I usually try to subdue my American tendencies. Lay low, play it cool. But I can’t be cool when it comes to Duran Duran. They were there for me when I was 12. A small freckled girl with geeky glasses who’s too shy to talk to boys and who can’t afford a Gloria Vanderbilt shirt doesn’t have a lot going for her on the small town junior high school circuit. 

 

How did I cope? I would put on my headphones and travel to Sri Lanka or Paris or wherever their music would take me. They introduced me to the possibility of getting out of Temple, Texas. On Tuesday, May 31 I saw Duran Duran at The Heineken Music Hall in my new hometown, Amsterdam. Although they played at the HMH the night before, my show was the first date booked. So it was the night for the die hard fans – the ones who bought their tickets the day they went on sale. Quite naturally Duran Duran gave us the better show and The Reflex. Unfortunately, most of the Dutch reviewers chose to go to the Monday night concert and they gave it a bad review. They wrote that the guys played too many new songs, didn’t play The Reflex and that Andy looked ridiculous, blah blah…

 

So when I heard this on Tuesday afternoon I put on their greatest hits CD, danced around the living room and prepared for a mediocre evening. But I was in for a treat. The show could not have been better – except, maybe for the crowd. Every woman over 30 who possessed a bad haircut and a fanny pack came flooding into the venue. 

 

It was not the most attractive crowd but The Fab Five looked great and played great. Even the back up singer, (who was more than just a back up singer) was great. The set list was great.  They played little known tracks from their first eponymous LP; you know the one before Rio? Maybe the reviewers didn’t recognize these songs and subsequently thought they were new. But the serious fans knew and we sang them with our lung’s fullest capacity. It was kind of a competition amongst us fans to see who could remember all the lyrics. Or was that just me? Yes, they threw in some new songs. No, those new songs didn’t get me dancing like Planet Earth but I didn’t mind, after all they did bring out a new cd last year. We know the score with these reunion tours – it’s a lot about the cash and Andy put it well by wearing a big diamond studded dollar sign around his neck. 

 

They made the night a party by turning Sound of Thunder into Donna Summer’s I Feel Love. They threw in some Sister Sledge and Deelight’s Groove Is in the Heart. When Andy was introduced he did a little riff from Free’s All Right Now and when John was about to be introduced some one in the audience threw a t-shirt on stage that said ‘Play The Fucking Bass John’, (she’d probably been keeping it in her fanny pack) But we took our cue and chanted ‘play the fucking bass John, play the fucking bass John’ over and over. All these little things added up and made the night really special.  We were all there together to celebrate a few great songs that went with a few great videos and made up a few great, fun, even carefree memories.  Oh, and the set-list went like this. Good, eh?

 

 

SUNRISE

HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF

PLANET EARTH

UNION OF THE SNAKE

ASTRONAUT

I DON’T WANT YOUR LOVE

SOUND OF THUNDER / I FEEL LOVE

COME UNDONE

WHAT HAPPENS TOMORROW

REFLEX

TIGER TIGER

CHAINS

ORDINARY WORLD

SAVE A PRAYER

BEDROOM TOYS

NOTORIOUS

NICE

CARELESS MEMORIES

WILD BOYS

COME UP AND SEE ME

GIRLS ON FILM

RIO

 

 

Words: Tiffany Davenport.

Photos: Tiffany Davenport.