PERFORMANCE

DURAN DURAN
NEW YORK CITY
Radio City Music Hall
Jan. 12, 1994


ONCE NEW WAVE'S REIGNING GALLANT, Duran Duran's lead singer, Simon LeBon, appeared onstage this night a poky shadow of his former self. Accompanied by bassist John Taylor, keyboardist Nick Rhodes (the two other members remaining from the original quartet), guitarist Warren Cuccurullo and four additional musicians and singers, LeBon seemed unsure whether to bask in his new-found success or mock the pop-star conceits he himself has outgrown.

There's nothing inherently wrong with grand, garish pop music. Duran Duran's decade-long string of slick, melodic hits remains a testament to that fact. That's why the callow supergroup's refusal to whoop it up Vegas style in the face of a massive career comeback makes its current live run such a disappointment.

"Ordinary World" and "Come Undone," the band's two recent hit singles, were heartening high points--songs that capitalize on the band's strong sense for supernal melodies rendered with appealing camp and gusto. The rest of the nearly two-hour set brimmed with note-for-note renditions of such radio stalwarts as "A View to a Kill," "Girls on Film" and "Rio," faint reminders of how giddy and effervescent pop trash can be.

James, the veteran Manchester, England, group that opened the evening, must have gazed with envy upon the warm reception afforded the headliner. Due to unfortunate career turns, mainstream recognition in this country has eluded the competent folk-rock sextet. One could easily imagine songs off the band's new album, Laid, blaring from American car radios. Yet Tim Booth, James' diminutive lead singer, was the only band member with energy to match the music's uplift. While Duran Duran could stand to pump more showmanship into their show, James would do well to dispense with their dour folk earnestness, celebrate their measurable songcraft--and perhaps steal a page from Duran Duran's marketing plan.

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