Duran Duran stages a spirited return

Date: FRI 08/13/93
By BRUCE WESTBROOK

Like those rare child actors who bridge the gap to adult stardom, Duran Duran has survived by easing into maturity. The four-man British band performed a triumphant comeback concert Wednesday night at The Woodlands' Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, eschewing the pretty-boy preening of its '80s heyday in favor of solid showmanship for a sell-out crowd. Standing throughout Wednesday's 100-minute, 15-song set, the fans were young and excited but had more of a good-natured party spirit than the early days' sex-symbol hysteria.

After Terence Trent D'Arby's opening set, highlighted by a cover of the Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash," Duran took the stage at 9:15 p.m. - and turned back the clock, playing the 1981 pop-rocker "Planet Earth." Yet, like other older songs to come, this one became new again, gaining minor-key and string accents via two violinists and a cellist at the rear of the stage.

New No. 1 hit "Ordinary World" was workmanlike and faithful to the recording, as was the follow-up hit, "Come Undone." But variations served the band better once again during 1982's "Hungry Like the Wolf."

It evolved from a slow, contemplative opening through a rhythmic, mid-tempo segment to a hard-charging rock finish, with John Taylor working a strong bass groove and the audience joining singer Simon LeBon in fist-pumping frenzy. He and backup singer Lamya al Mugheiry often engaged in theatrical interplay, and LeBon twice opened songs reciting dreamy poetry - more reminiscent of Duran 's "Night Boat" video than any obvious Jim Morrison posturing.

Once, this segued into a set rarity: an album track, namely 1981's "The Chauffeur." As its artful video ran on a stage monitor, LeBon sat on a stool for a markedly emotional performance, ending with him playing a small flute and leading his mates, Pied Piper-style, on a slow walk across the set. Otherwise, commercialism dictated the repertoire, with almost all singles and only one song from Duran 's low-selling last three albums - the title track to 1986's "Notorious." Most unfairly ignored was 1988's "Big Thing" album, Duran 's best by far since "Rio" of 1982.

Though a month into the tour, the show had some opening-night-style glitches, including a sometimes-muddied sound mix. Technical troubles plagued keyboardist Nick Rhodes during "Girls on Film." LeBon's intro to "Notorious" was cut short when visual effects began early, and a loud sound surge marred the opening of "Save a Prayer."

But the band played on - and played well. Guitarist Warren Cuccurullo impressed during his brief solos. The steady Rhodes remained smilingly above it all, though he came up front for a playful mad-scientist scenario for "UMF."

Al Mugheiry often commanded a deserved spotlight. She sang better than LeBon, who strained for the high notes, and changed outfits to prowl the stage as characters in song-stories.

Indeed, much of the show's strength came not from the musicianship but from the staging. The set design by Stefanos Lazaridis was a masterful mix of the whimsical and sinister, evoking Duran 's grasp for innocence and freedom in a jaded world of woe. Flanked by illustrated scrims, the massive set had ramps and risers crisscrossing charcoal-brick walls, pocked with vault and cell doors and pierced by a globe and silvery missile, which turned out to be a giant lipstick holder.

A circular opening at the rear served as a sun - beaming, then eclipsing - and as a screen, showing films to match the music (including looks at LeBon's model-wife, Yasmin). The show closed with a frenetic "Wild Boys," as the band battered cell bars wheeled across the stage, then retreated through the vault door.

Symbolically, they were still caged - still prisoners, perhaps, of their early fame and hype. But they're also still asserting a pop prowess that's always been theirs, whether adulation has followed or not.

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