When Duran Duran announced another U.S. tour in 2019, I didn't think for a minute of going. The band has been performing the standard "Paper Gods" tour setlist for years, and I'd already seen a few shows.
But when the band made its 2019 debut in Miami last week, there was a moment when I was thinking of dropping everything and going to tonight's show in New Orleans.
That moment: when I saw Duran was performing "The Seventh Stranger," one of my favorites, for the first time since 1984. The fan-recorded videos on YouTube did it justice. Although Simon mangled a few lines, it was an honest-to-goodness passionate take on the song. In the backdrop: video from the "Sing Blue Silver" tour, with Andy Taylor and everything.
There were other highlights in that show's setlist: the band opened with "New Religion," played "Friends of Mine," and even dropped in a track from "Red Carpet Massacre," "Tempted." Although there could have been more songs in the 15-song set, or different ones ("White Lines" doesn't even sound good to my ears anymore), it was a show I would have loved to see.
Then came Kaaboo, in the Cayman Islands. After catching a glimpse of all the clips from Miami, and photos taken by John Taylor's famous fashion designer wife, Gela, of the band members' arrival, I was excited to see what would be played.
It was the more standard festival setlist. The band opened with "Paper Gods," and played "The Chauffeur," and perhaps inexplicably, "Last Night in the City." There were no rarities added or songs added for that matter. My enthusiasm was dampened.
Last night, the band returned to the Miami setlist for its first show in New Orleans. Tonight, it's the band's second there, the one I would have attended. Conventional wisdom points to Duran playing the Kaboo setlist, or at least not "The Seventh Stranger" for a second night.
But one never knows. Just like Duran did when it played the song a week ago, the band could pull out a surprise that makes me think, "What if." If not, there will always be the 40th anniversary tour, and more chances to dust off gems like "The Seventh Stranger."
