It’s rare for a band to be at the top of their game after they’ve been together for over thirty years.
Things happen, don’t they? The singer grows a dodgy mullet and proclaims himself to be the son of God. The guitarist embarks on a side-project that the other band members ‘just don’t get’. The drummer writes a song about a sea creature and his garden. The band split up, and they don’t talk for twenty years. Then the bassist gets a tax bill that he can’t afford to pay, and they come together for a series of over-hyped stadium shows and a passable-at-best new album.
The album tanks, the stadium shows are lacklustre, and everybody thinks that they just could’ve – or, indeed, should’ve – tried a little bit harder. Their hard-earned reputation is ruined, and they’re left to mull over what they used to have from the safety and security of their newly-purchased countryside bolthole. The band are sad, the fans are disappointed, and everyone just thinks that it’s all a bit crap.
We always think that it’s a bit tragic when that happens, to be honest. That’s why we’re so pleased that Eighties pop-rockers Duran Duran are just as good now as they were when they started out all those years ago. Their show at Cornwall’s gorgeous Eden Project was a perfect example of how to put on a high-energy arena-rock show, and we enjoyed every minute of it. The band were as tight as can be, the setlist was insanely good, and frontman Simon Le Bon showed no signs of his fifty-seven years; heck, his vocals would put most singers half his age to shame, and he still knows exactly how to keep a capacity crowd moving for the duration of the band’s hour-and-a-half set.
It’s safe to say that they’ve still got it
There’s a reason why Duran Duran are still selling out arenas. They’ve got the tunes – Rio, Save A Prayer, and Hungry Like The Wolf, anyone? – and they’re one of the best live bands we’ve seen for a long time. If we had to pick a highlight of their show at Eden, we’d probably plump for Planet Earth. Not only is it still an incredibly catchy pop song, but the band’s inclusion of a minute or so of David Bowie’s Space Oddity served as a poignant tribute to one of music’s all-time greats. It also, of course, fits in quite nicely with the Eden Project itself.
As gig venues go, Eden is one of the best in the country. Not only do you get to see some of the world’s biggest acts perform in a surprisingly intimate arena, but you’re also surrounded by one of the country’s top tourist attractions (including, of course, Eden’s world-famous biodomes). Their Eden Sessions are always one of the highlights of the summer season, and we can’t recommend them highly enough. If you ever get the chance to head down to one, then we think you should do it – you won’t be disappointed.
