Duran Duran at Red Rocks

There are concerts that become touchstones in a person's life. When Duran Duran performed at Red Rocks Amphitheatre for the first time in its career on Sept. 20, it was clear that the show meant that much to both concertgoers and the band. Singer Simon Le Bon was moved to post to duranduran.com about the majesty of the venue, which he described as looking like the inside of some ancient alien spacecraft, and just what it was like to kick off the band's minitour in support of new album "Paper Gods" in such a place.

Besides the scenic, windswept backdrop for the show, there was more that made the night a special one. Chic featuring Nile Rodgers opened for Duran, easily becoming the best opening act in Duran's long career. Rodgers is not only a studio mastermind but a showman with a fantastic backing band. He kicked off the party with a number of the band's and his hits, from "Le Freak" and "Good Times" to David Bowie's "Let's Dance" and Chic's latest dance chart-topper, "I'll Be There."

Nile Rodgers snaps photos of opener Clean Bandit. (All of these awesome photos were taken by my wonderful husband, Christopher Windle.)

Cellphones lit up the night sky during Chic's cover of Rodgers' and Daft Punk's "Get Lucky."

Duran took the stage with aplomb, performing the opening title track "Paper Gods." It was one of five new songs the band played, including the live debut of the beautiful "What Are the Chances?" After "PG," Duran broke out hit after hit: "Hungry Like the Wolf," "A View to a Kill," "The Reflex," and "Come Undone," before playing the new ballad following "Last Night In the City."

Rodgers joined the band on stage for two of Duran's hits he had a hand in, "Notorious" and latest single "Pressure Off." Duran has another hit album on its hands, as Le Bon shared the news that "Paper Gods" debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard albums chart, the biggest chart entry for Duran since 1993's "The Wedding Album."

The hits kept coming: "Planet Earth," "Ordinary World" (even more moving in the setting of Red Rocks), "(Reach Up for the) Sunrise," and "Wild Boys." Duran made the new song "Dancephobia" better than the studio version by jumping straight into electro-fied versions of rare live track "Too Much Information" and "Girls On Film."

Duran came back for an encore of "White Lines," "Save a Prayer" and "Rio," closing out the show before an extremely appreciative crowd in a nearly full venue that fits more than 9,000 people. As Simon Le Bon said, Red Rocks "is a truly magical place," and Duran Duran proved to be the perfect fit.