The Chase Center in San Francisco, home of the Golden State Warriors, became a massive dance hall on Sunday night as Duran Duran rolled into town to support their newest album FUTURE PAST.

Opening the evening was the one and only Nile Rodgers with Chic. Nile has a long history with Duran, making it no surprise that he’d be there to support the tour. However Rodgers had just participated in the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert the night before… in London. That’s quite a commute.

If he was jet lagged, we sure couldn’t tell. Nile and Chic were tight as ever, jamming through hits like “I Want Your Love” and “Le Chic”, but also bringing to the setlist a myriad of other tunes Rodgers co-wrote. Madonna, Daft Punk, David Bowie, Diana Ross, Sister Sledge… Nile Rodgers’ writing credits are seemingly endless.

Photos by Clay Lancaster.

Duran Duran took the stage just after 9pm, with a stage that looked to be rigged for filming and audio recording (cameras and microphones strategically placed).

Simon Le Bon strutted on stage in a bath of green light, just in time for the band to kick in to “The Wild Boys”. The whole band seemed energized, and sounded virtually picture-perfect. The heaviness of John Taylor’s bass could be felt through the arena, and was particularly striking on songs like “INVISIBLE” and “Come Undone”.

The band’s set included a little for everyone… the largest chunk (not surprisingly) coming from their 1982 album Rio, but with 2021’s FUTURE PAST well-represented.

Le Bon sounded excellent, but it was perhaps Nick Rhodes’ synthesizer parts and John Taylor’s bass lines that were the highlight of the show. Duran Duran’s sound has always had prominent rhythm and synth offerings, and the band absolutely delivered in San Francisco.

A couple of highlights of the night (for us) were “Come Undone” (Le Bon’s falsetto notes hit flawlessly each time), and “Save a Prayer” (which called for the entire Chase Center to light up with cell phone flashlights), both of which help remind us how good pop music can be.

Photos below by Clay Lancaster.