In which I drive over 4000 miles to briefly follow my favorite band around the country for four dates of their 2022 North American Tour.
The plan was to catch the Duran Duran on these dates:
- Columbia, MD – August 23
- New York, NY – August 25
- Columbus, OH – August 26
- Ft. Worth, TX – August 30
I would see the first three shows, drive back to Austin, pick-up Erin, and then drive back up to Ft. Worth for the fourth show. Then, for good measure, we would see The Killers and the legendary Bryan Ferry.
On the way, I would stop in various places looking for good food. First stop – Gus’s Fried Chicken in Memphis, TN.
Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken
Memphis, TN
Duran Duran
Merriweather Post Pavilion
Columbia, MD
August 23, 2022
I arrived in Baltimore hungry and in search of the perfect crab cake. On Erin’s recommendation, I started with G&M Restaurant, in Linthicum Heights. The crab cake itself was delicious, but the restaurant seemed confused about its identity, making (unnecessary) fine dining overtures, but serving butter in diner-style packets. They sat me alone in an overflow dining room and the floor was still dirty from lunch. Their food was good, but my overall dining experience was sterile.
The next day, I drove to the Lexington Market in downtown Baltimore, where the experience was anything but sterile. The market, which is the oldest operating market in America, houses over a hundred butchers, fish mongers, food stands, and other purveyors of fresh food. Usually. I found the market to be half empty, with many stands closed and dark. I thought this might be because of COVID, but unbeknownst to me at the time, the historic East Market was to be closed less than a month later, to make way for a new (and sterile) Lexington Market Plaza. Mock-up illustrations for the new market make it look about as rustic and authentic as an airport food court. I couldn’t be happier that I was able to see the market with it’s beautiful, historic patina on display and in all it’s glory. Was there a mentally ill woman screaming her head off in the middle of the market? Yes. Was I bothered by her? No. But I am bothered by the fact that the people in the mock-up illustrations do not look like the same Baltimoreons I saw inside the market.
I was in the Lexington Market to go to Faidley’s Seafood, which claims to have the best crab cakes in Baltimore. Faidley’s has been open since 1886 and their original location has 136 years worth of signs, magazine articles, reviews, and other bric-a-brac adorning the walls. Despite some stale accolades (“Like Bo Derek, an easy 10!” raved one review), the owner, Nancy Divine, was behind the counter being filmed for a food show, presumably demonstrating the ongoing authenticity and quality of her food. And as if to punctuate this quality, a man came in and dropped a basket of live crabs on the counter.
I ordered a crab cake lunch platter and a Raven Special Lager (because Baltimore). The crab cake was meaty and delicious. In truth, from a standpoint of taste, I couldn’t call a winner between the G&M crab cake and the Faidley’s crab cake, but both can be shipped, so feel free to perform your own taste test. The G&M crab cake is visually more appealing and with some work could find itself the star of an epicurean plate at a fine dining restaurant. But my meal at Faidley’s was warm and comforting and it was far and away the better dining experience. It is likely to remain so until they move locations in 2023, so you had better hurry.
After lunch, I made my way to the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia. I was quite early, but not being familiar with the area, I didn’t want to get caught-up in the snarl of rush hour traffic. I met some other fans in the park just outside the gates of the pavilion and they said I had just missed the sound check. But we sat there in the shade while canned music played from the stage and shared stories of other shows we had seen over the years.
New York, NY
Duran Duran
Madison Square Garden
New York, New York
August 25, 2022
The Power Station
New York, NY
No Duran Duran pilgrimage to New York City would be complete without a visit to The Power Station.
BOUCHERIE
New York, NY
I was too early for the party at the Stonewall Inn, so I walked through the West Village and found a beautiful and cozy little French brasserie called BOUCHERIE.
It was after lunch, so the restaurant was quiet with only a few tables seated. They had opened the tall doors to the patio to let in the beautiful October day and the sounds of the city. This made for a beautiful atmosphere to enjoy my lunch, which was from the prix fixe menu – a salade mesclun au chèvre chaud (mixed greens, warm goat cheese, croutons, apples, cherry tomatoes, candied walnuts) and moules marinières (steamed mussels, white wine, shallots, parsley). Both were delicious and I found the whole experience… parfait!
And if my dining experience weren’t enough to make me want to return, what happened next sealed the deal. After I had paid the waiter, I stood and walked over to the actual butchery station to take some photographs. On a stand at the station was a very nice hardback book about the BOUCHERIE restaurant, with classic French recipes, and inspiration for pursuing the philosophy of joie de vivre. How appropriate! I was thumbing through the book, thinking I should purchase a copy as a souvenir, when the bartender said, “You can just take it.” I thanked him and told him I would be back. And every time I have returned to New York, I have.
The Stonewall Inn
New York, NY
I walked just a block from the restaurant to the legendary Stonewall Inn, where I met a dazzle of Duranies in the upstairs bar. Lisa ran right up and embraced me. Just like a teacher to make the new kid feel at home. I also met her husband Hans and a teacher friend of hers. I also met Jason (Velvet Rebel) and Amy, who would become long-term Duranie friends.
As it got closer to showtime we gathered ourselves together and made our way to the subway. Lisa helped me navigate the ticket machine and we made our way to the 34 St-Penn Station stop, directly under Madison Square Garden.
We made our way to our seats and I tried to take note of where my new friends were within the arena, waving to them when I would see them. I had paid as much as I could afford and got to the 5th row. I had never been that close. I was watching the crew on stage and I could see them plain as day. I realized that my favorite band would soon be that close and I will admit that I got weirdly emotional. I don’t know that I process joy very well.
After the show, I found Lisa & Co. and we gushed about the show, while we made our way out to the street. I never really want the party to end and I wanted to stay with my friends, but I had to get back on the road. I said my goodbyes, walked to the parking garage, got my car, and drove through the night to get to Ohio.
Duran Duran
Wonderbus Festival
The Lawn at CAS
Columbus, OH
August 26, 2022
I made it to Cleveland the next morning and met up with Karen in her new apartment. After a quick tour and a catch-up, we did what we always do when we visit each other – we went to Chuy’s. Karen had long been aware that a location of Chuy’s was in Columbus, but she had never made the drive. We had to go to Columbus for the show anyway, so it was a perfect opportunity to visit a new location of our favorite place.
The restaurant mostly looked the part, though it was more restrained and less chock-a-block full of hubcaps and Velvet Elvis paintings. The waiter also warned us that even though the menu was the same as the one in Austin, the food might also be more restrained and less chock-a-block full of peppers to accommodate Midwestern tastes. But I ordered my usual steak burrito (“Big as yo’ face!”) with Boom-Boom sauce and I couldn’t taste any difference from the ones I have had at home. It was delicious!
We made our way to the venue and as we stood in line, I was suddenly reminded why I don’t particularly care for music festivals. The line…
Once we made it through the line to get in the venue, we stood in line to have our ID’s checked, then we stood in line to get a drink, then we stood in line for the bathroom, then it was time for the concert and we had to fight our way through the sea of chairs and picnic blankets to get a good view. I won’t belabor the point, but there were issues. My biggest disappointment was simply not having the time to look around for Duranies that I knew from online and with whom I wanted to make the same awesome connections I had made in New York. I saw Amy Harber and Durandy from a distance, but I didn’t see anyone else. It turns out that Matt Ciarelli and his wife were standing ten feet from me, but I just didn’t realize it at the time.
Duran Duran
Dickies Arena
Ft. Worth, Texas
August 30, 2022
Erin and I drove up to Ft. Worth…
The Killers
Moody Center
Austin, Texas
September 9, 2022
Only a couple of weeks after my tour, I was able to see The Killers, my second favorite band and a band who have acknowledged being influenced by Duran Duran. The respect seems to be mutual. In 2008, Brandon Flowers & Dave Keuning joined Duran Duran onstage in Las Vegas for Planet Earth and rumors of Brandon Flowers working with Duran Duran on the 2015 Paper Gods track “Change the Skyline” were confirmed by John Taylor, “No disrespect to Jonas Bjerre, but the version of this song where that has Simon and Brandon singing together is a real moment. A real shame it never saw the light of day.” Oh, my heart. My broken heart.
I have loved The Killers ever since Hot Fuss, within which I recognized the sound of so many of my favorite bands of the 80’s that had clearly influenced that debut album. Their second album, Sam’s Town, hooked me forever.
I first saw The Killers in 2007, when they came to Austin on their Sam’s Town Tour and it was one of the best concerts I have ever seen. “We never sat down. We never stopped dancing,” I wrote at the time. The brash and energetic band came hard and left an indelible impression.
Roxy Music
Moody Center
Austin, Texas
September 21, 2022
I rounded-out my Duran Duran themed concert run by seeing Roxy Music on their 50th Anniversary tour. Childhood friends John Taylor and Nick Rhodes couldn’t get tickets for Roxy Music as the band passed through Birmingham, England in the 70’s, but the resourceful lads stood outside the venue and listened to the sound check.
So influenced by Roxy Music were Duran Duran, John Taylor and Simon Le Bon had the honor of inducting them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.
The hour was getting late and they still hadn’t played some of their bigger hits, including some of my favorites. I thought they would keep Avalon in their back pocket for the encore (“Now the party’s over, I’m so tired…”), but then suddenly there were the unmistakable opening guitar licks of that song. I leaned over to Erin and said, “They still haven’t played two of my favorites. I’m getting nervous.” After Avalon came a deluge of hits, starting with their biggest US hit Love is the Drug, followed by Editions of You, and the wildly fun Do the Strand.
Finally, the lights dimmed to a cool blue and the opening keyboard chords of Jealous Guy washed over my soul.
Erin and I stood aside while I emotionally gathering myself together, when I heard a woman shout, “Nice PunkMasters shirt!” I recognized the coded language immediately. That shout out didn’t have anything to do with the nice PunkMasters shirt but everything to do with Duran Duran, so I marched up the stairs to meet my new friends – none other than two of the ladies from The Cherry Ice Cream Smile Podcast!
Appendix A: Raw Data
Total Miles Driven: 4488
States Visited: 11 (Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky)
Speeding Tickets: 0
Appendix B: Set Lists
New songs are in ALL CAPS. Unique songs are in bold. Encore songs are italicized.
Duran Duran, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland, August 23, 2022
- VELVET NEWTON (Intro)
- The Wild Boys
- Hungry Like the Wolf
- INVISIBLE
- ANNIVERSARY
- Notorious
- A View to a Kill
- Come Undone
- GIVE IT ALL UP
- Friends of Mine
- Careless Memories
- Ordinary World
- TONIGHT UNITED
- Planet Earth
- Hold Back the Rain
- The Reflex
- White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It) – (Grandmaster Melle Mel cover)
- Girls on Film/Acceptable in the 80’s (Calvin Harris cover)
- Save a Prayer
- Rio
Duran Duran, Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, August 25, 2022
- VELVET NEWTON (Intro)
- The Wild Boys
- Hungry Like the Wolf
- INVISIBLE
- ANNIVERSARY
- Notorious (with Nile Rodgers)
- A View to a Kill
- Come Undone
- GIVE IT ALL UP
- Union of the Snake
- Friends of Mine
- Careless Memories
- Ordinary World
- TONIGHT UNITED
- Planet Earth
- Hold Back the Rain
- The Reflex
- White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It) – (Grandmaster Melle Mel cover)
- Girls on Film/Acceptable in the 80’s (Calvin Harris cover)
- Save a Prayer
- Rio
Duran Duran, Wonderbus Festival, The Lawn at CAS, Columbus, Ohio, August 26, 2022
- VELVET NEWTON (Intro)
- The Wild Boys
- Hungry Like the Wolf
- INVISIBLE
- Notorious
- The James Bond Theme (John Barry)
- A View to a Kill
- Come Undone
- GIVE IT ALL UP
- Friends of Mine
- Careless Memories
- Ordinary World
- Planet Earth
- Hold Back the Rain
- The Reflex
- White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It) – (Grandmaster Melle Mel cover)
- Girls on Film/Acceptable in the 80’s (Calvin Harris cover)
- Save a Prayer (Simon sang one line of Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” at the very end)
- Rio
Duran Duran, Dickies Arena, Ft. Worth, Texas, August 30, 2022
- VELVET NEWTON (Intro)
- The Wild Boys
- Hungry Like the Wolf
- INVISIBLE
- ALL OF YOU
- Notorious
- The James Bond Theme (John Barry)
- A View to a Kill
- Come Undone
- GIVE IT ALL UP
- Union of the Snake
- Friends of Mine
- Careless Memories
- Ordinary World
- TONIGHT UNITED
- Planet Earth
- Hold Back the Rain
- The Reflex
- White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It) – (Grandmaster Melle Mel cover)
- Girls on Film/Acceptable in the 80’s (Calvin Harris cover)
- Save a Prayer
- Rio
The Killers, Moody Center, Austin, Texas, September 9, 2022
- My Own Soul’s Warning
- Enterlude
- When You Were Young
- Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
- Smile Like You Mean It
- Shot at the Night
- Running Towards a Place
- Human (Vocoder Intro)
- Somebody Told Me
- Fire in Bone
- BOY
- Runaway Horses
- A Dustland Fairytale
- You Were Always on My Mind (Gwen McCrae cover)
- Runaways
- Read My Mind
- Dying Breed
- Caution (Rut Segue intro)
- For Reasons Unknown (Fan named Bryan played the drums)
- All These Things That I’ve Done
- Spaceman
- You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet, Baby (The Smiths cover with Johnny Marr)
- Mr. Brightside
Roxy Music, Moody Center, Austin, Texas, September 21, 2022
- Re-Make/Re-Model
- Out of the Blue
- The Bogus Man
- The Main Thing
- Ladytron
- While My Heart Is Still Beating
- Oh Yeah
- If There Is Something
- In Every Dream Home a Heartache
- Tara
- My Only Love
- To Turn You On
- Dance Away
- Same Old Scene
- More Than This
- Avalon
- Love Is the Drug
- Editions of You
- Do the Strand
- Jealous Guy
