OT: Amazing weekend of live music...
Posted: 31 Oct 2011 20:23...and the two acts I saw couldn't be much more different.
Saturday night, vespa and I caught Duran Duran on their last night of their current US tour in Atlantic City. Think what you want of DD, but damn, they put on a hell of a live show. It was one part total 80s nostalgia with one part pure musicianship and live stage craft. A brilliant, fun, energetic performance that wasn't just for girls (like me) who had posters of John Taylor all over their walls when they were 12 or 14 years old. Yes, he's still incredibly hot - but now I also appreciate what a tremendous bass player he is and I really appreciated how much he is the heart and soul of that band's sound, all the way through today. We also had some fun guests on stage with it being the end of the tour and being in AC, with Mark Ronson and Ana Matronic both showing up to recreate some of their additions to DD's last studio album. Simon was in excellent voice and an absolute slut with the audience. You gotta love that about him.
Sunday, in contrast, it was Rick Wakeman and Jon Anderson doing their solo/semi-acoustic "thing" at Temple University. I was on the fence about going to this show but so glad now that I did. Jon still sings with a voice that defies description and is almost inhumanly beautiful live (no wonder he considers himself an elf); Wakeman plays the keyboards as if he has 8 arms and is a tssst-worthy hilarious dirty old man. One minute Jon was waxing on poetically about the beauty and purity of love and the next Rick was remarking the praises of viagra. The new tracks for their recent album blended beautifully with older songs, including a breathtaking version of "Awaken" worth the price of admission alone. This summer I saw the current incarnation of "Yes", which just sounded so pale and pathetic without Wakeman and Anderson there (as much as I love Squire and Howe, they can't carry the Yes moniker on their own, IMHO). It looks like they won't be back to the States until 2012 but if they're headed your way and you're at all a prog head, DO NOT MISS THIS TOUR.
Saturday night, vespa and I caught Duran Duran on their last night of their current US tour in Atlantic City. Think what you want of DD, but damn, they put on a hell of a live show. It was one part total 80s nostalgia with one part pure musicianship and live stage craft. A brilliant, fun, energetic performance that wasn't just for girls (like me) who had posters of John Taylor all over their walls when they were 12 or 14 years old. Yes, he's still incredibly hot - but now I also appreciate what a tremendous bass player he is and I really appreciated how much he is the heart and soul of that band's sound, all the way through today. We also had some fun guests on stage with it being the end of the tour and being in AC, with Mark Ronson and Ana Matronic both showing up to recreate some of their additions to DD's last studio album. Simon was in excellent voice and an absolute slut with the audience. You gotta love that about him.
Sunday, in contrast, it was Rick Wakeman and Jon Anderson doing their solo/semi-acoustic "thing" at Temple University. I was on the fence about going to this show but so glad now that I did. Jon still sings with a voice that defies description and is almost inhumanly beautiful live (no wonder he considers himself an elf); Wakeman plays the keyboards as if he has 8 arms and is a tssst-worthy hilarious dirty old man. One minute Jon was waxing on poetically about the beauty and purity of love and the next Rick was remarking the praises of viagra. The new tracks for their recent album blended beautifully with older songs, including a breathtaking version of "Awaken" worth the price of admission alone. This summer I saw the current incarnation of "Yes", which just sounded so pale and pathetic without Wakeman and Anderson there (as much as I love Squire and Howe, they can't carry the Yes moniker on their own, IMHO). It looks like they won't be back to the States until 2012 but if they're headed your way and you're at all a prog head, DO NOT MISS THIS TOUR.
