After whipping the crowd into a frenzy (no joke) with "Planet Earth" and "The Reflex," Simon and the guys moved on to their classic theme song from the 1985 James Bond film "A View to a Kill," which came as an unexpected surprise. Before too long, and a near flawless rendition of "Come Undone," the first act came to a close and the band left on their first break with John Taylor’s disclaimer, "We’re just getting started!" Although you hear that spin at almost every live gig, Taylor wasn’t kidding. After nearly an hour, the show was just kicking into high gear. When the boys returned to the stage in matching silver suits, gone were the traditional instruments in favor of two synthesizers (John and Nick respectively) and an electric drum kit (Roger) for an old-school electronic set, which transformed the show entirely. While there wasn’t anything wrong with "Last Chance on the Stairway" whatsoever, the show’s momentum stalled somewhat and tamed the crowd until the band kicked out the hybrid "All She Wants" and "Warm Leatherette" before ending the electronic set with "I Don’t Want Your Love" and a couple of new tracks. Since a portion of the more radio-friendly fans might not have been familiar with some of the electronic material beyond their car stereos, it almost seemed like the crowd ran out of gas halfway through the show. Given the shift in energy, it must have been obvious to the band.

For the final act, Simon and crew attempted to rescue the crowd with their 1986 title album track "Notorious," which got the crowd dancing again, and then slowed things down again with cell-phone lit "Save a Prayer." But it wasn’t until Duran Duran launched into their 1981 MTV aided breakout hit "Girls on Film" when the fans went crazy. From there it was a full-on, relentless assault of retro goodness, as the band served up "Ordinary World," and "Sunrise" before the best song of the night "Wild Boyz," which had the entire building up on their feet. After performing over twenty songs, Duran Duran returned to the stage for an encore to close out the show with the huge 1982 hit "Rio," which, from my view, left everyone slumped in their seats and breathless when the lights came up.

The only noticeable low points of the night came in the form of back-end, stabilizing tech adjustments. When the band kicked into the title track from the new album, Red Carpet Massacre, Le Bon’s vocals were drowned out by the heavy, unbalanced and reverberating bass. When you’re promoting your new album and title track, you definitely don’t want things to fall off the rails at a time like that. Also, during "Ordinary World" there appeared to be an awkward unevenness to the song that was slightly off-balance and out-of-step with their lone back-up singer. If anything else, the sheer power and energy that exploded off the endlessly pulsating stage made the entire experience seem like it should have been held at a huge, spacious outdoor venue. For most of the show, I unexpectedly felt like that guy sitting in the chair in those old Memorex ads. Like I said, I was drained when the lights came up... in a good way.

Although the Vancouver show wasn’t quite sold out, the crowd was one of the best I’ve seen from the city in years. Vancouver arena crowds are notorious for being too laid back at times (like spinelessly laid back), but not this one. If you’ve been waiting to see Duran Duran or haven’t yet because you’ve been putting it off for another time, do yourself a favor and check them out on this tour while they’re still in fine form. Just make sure you buy a couple bottles of water before the show starts.