Duran Duran Live At MSG, NYC 10-25-11: Union Of The (Garden) Snake. Some thirty years on, after Duran Duran's original heyday, the brits were coming to our shores to ply their trade at the big house. Madison Square Garden. I remember buying my first girlfriend a copy of Seven And The Ragged Tiger on cassette. Anyone who watched MTV when it first started were a fan of the Durannies. How could you not be? Sure, my favorite band at the time was Black Sabbath, but even in my youth I knew a good song was a GOOD SONG, and "Rio" was a GOOD SONG. I loved them during their frilly first years. I sort of lost track of them once Notorious came out (not my thing), and sort of drifted in and out when it came to paying attention to them. I heard Warren Cuccurullo had started playing with them. I was a fan of his from his tenure in Frank Zappa's band, as well as from Missing Persons ("Mental Hopscotch" anyone?). They did that fabulous song "Ordinary World". That sort of brought them back into my musical world view. Then back out until recently. My current girlfriend happens to be a big fan of Double D. See how life has it's synchronicity? Apparently I dig girls that dig Duran Duran. Anyhoo... She wanted to go see the band at MSG. I knew the hits from yesteryear, and had no problem tagging along. Much to my surprise, Le Bon, Rhodes, and the Taylors sounded absolutely incredible. It was if time had stopped. The years gone by only showed in the few more lines on their faces, and in Simon's facial hair. The voice, the stagecraft, the musicianship, was of a caliber that even surpassed the supposed "glory days". Brandishing a new album that is one of the strongest releases in their catalog of hits, I was swept away in to the world of the Duranies. Speaking of which, there were a veritable shit-ton of them. Not knowing where the band was at in it's career, I wasn't sure if they'd pack the only house that matters, but pack it they did. Young and old danced and sang like maniacs. This one dude a couple of rows from me, looking every bit of 50+ years old, put most everyone to shame in the cutting loose and dancing like pro department. He had moves that would've put Baryshnikov to shame, all the while never breaking his gaze upon the stage. Uber-fan? Stalker candidate? Whatever he might have been, he was impressive. The setlist itself was refreshing and diverse. Sure the hits were there, along with a tasty smattering of new material, but I gotta say, reaching back and doing a song like "Tiger Tiger" (an instrumental from side 2 of "Seven And The Ragged Tiger", and a personal favorite of mine) made it quite obvious that this band weren't interested in just slogging the hits of yesteryear, but that they are vital in the fact that they are still making great music, and smart enough to give the really deep fans, such as my girlfriend, a set list that they can really sink their teeth into. She went home happy. I went home happy. I'm sure the Boys From County Duran did, as well. Having won the Garden, is there anywhere else in the world that can't be conquered? - Jay (Mazeffect) Ingstrup www.duranduran.com