Cherry Ice Cream, SMILE

Duran Duran came to New Orleans the end of April. They were my favorite group of the 80's. John Taylor could do no wrong and I strongly stated to my mother ... I am marrying him LOL. Way older than me, I was merely in Elementary School when I became a Duranie. Too young to go to their concerts. All I could do was watch their Arena concert on HBO and flip through the teen magazines they graced. Several years of this and POOF ... Duran Duran went away. I went on to love other artists & music. The last time they were in New Orleans, was in 2006 for a VooDoo Concert. Somehow I missed it. I wasn't going to miss them this time! I got my Duran Duran official cherry ice cream tshirt all the way from England. Got some lavender Converse and a purple jacket. For no reason, I was in PURPLE. I was in PURPLE! I was in PURPLE! The concert was Sunday and the Thursday before, I learned PRINCE DIED :( It hit me like a ton of bricks. I loved Prince and I took it just as hard as when Michael Jackson died. I was numb Thursday, Friday & Saturday. I somehow got myself together Sunday and went. When I got to the Smoothie King Center (Next to the Mercedes Superdome) others were dressed in purple :)

Nile Rodgers (Chic) was the opening act (He has a long & close history with Duran Duran). They needed help with "The Reflex" and he pulled the song through for them. Do you know the record company (US based) didn't want Duran Duran to release "The Reflex" because it sounded "too black"? Duran Duran & it's British parent company threatened the record company to release it or else (I'll tell you more in a later post .. I'm reading both Andy & John Taylor's book right now). Nile Rodgers is the 70+ million dollar man (so he's having the last laugh LOL)! Every artist seeks him. You see he writes, plays & produces music! When you can do all of that! You're worth a lot! He has produced notables such as Pharrell Williams & Daft Punk (Get Lucky), David Bowie (Let's Dance), Duran Duran (The Reflex, The Wild Boys, Notorious, Pressure Off), Rod Stewart, Madonna, Eric Clapton, B-52's, David Lee Roth and I could be here all day listing artists. He performed with Prince two years ago at Essence fest. So he was also upset about his death, the night of the concert. The week prior to the concert, I asked him on Twitter to play a song "Everybody Dance". Do you know he responded? He said, "DEAL" :D He dedicated his performance in New Orleans to Prince and then "Everybody Dance" was the first song he played. I felt so special, because he didn't always start off with that song in concerts. Very nice & talented man. He also played the song he produced for David Bowie "Let's Dance" (in the video below).

After Nile Rodgers, Duran Duran played. If I had to sum it up in one word, it would be FUN! Duran Duran, knows how to have a great time. For anyone that doesn't know the aesthetics of Duran Duran, they've always been a VISUAL group. They're known for their VISUALS! Their videos were the epitome of exotic lands, fancy clothes, beautiful models and a hypnotic sound. Their concert was no different! There was exploding confetti, huge beach balls, and a screen that displayed so much wonderment. It was awesome. I love their NEW song "Pressure Off" with Janelle Monae & Nile Rodgers. I love "Notorious". I love their classics such as "Planet Earth", "Hungry Like The Wolf", "Rio", "The Reflex", "Is There Something I Should Know" and "Girls On Film" (which I used in an Aveeno post). Duran Duran also paid tribute to both David Bowie (Ground Control To Major Tom) and Prince (Save A Prayer). You'll hear me singing in the video and I appear twice in the Duran Duran set. If you're a fan, definitely go and see them. It's definitely worth it.

"Moving on the floor now babe you're a bird of paradise
Cherry Ice Cream Smile I suppose it's very nice
With a step to your left and a flick to the right you catch that mirror way out west
You know you're something special and you look like you're the best" - Rio

The beginning of the year, I mentioned (when I saw Chaka Khan here) to GO to your favorite artist's concerts whenever you can. I don't know what is going on this year, but too many artists have left us. Below are clips from the concert. With only so much battery, I only taped my very favorite songs from Nile Rodgers (1st Half) & Duran Duran (2nd Half). This video is unlisted. Enjoy. Happy Friday!