Classic Cinema: Queen Of The Amazons (1947)

“Just What Are They Afraid Of?”

The jungle adventure genre is almost as old as film itself. Many early mass-distributed films took place in the jungle. Tarzan Of The Apes (1918), King Kong (1933), and The King Of The Kongo (1929) are all examples of early popular jungle adventure films. The genre’s popularity has waxed and waned over the years but has been a mainstay for over a century. It has also combined with other genres to give us popular films like Predator (1987) and Jurassic Park (1993). One subgenre that flourished for many years was the “Jungle Girl” or “Jungle Woman” subgenre. Films that fall into this category include Sheena (1984), Gungala, The Black Panther Girl (1968), and The Savage Girl (1932). Many films in this subgenre were exploitation films, but a few were actual adventure films that featured strong female leads. One of those films is 1947’s Queen Of The Amazons.

The movie tells the tale of a young woman, Jean Preston, who goes on an expedition in the African jungles in order to discover the fate of her lost fiancee, Greg Jones, and the other members of his own expedition. Leading the way is Gary Lambert, a chauvinistic guide who has ulterior motives for guiding Preston’s group. Also joining the group, unbeknownst to the others, is a murderer who is trying to prevent the caravan from discovering a dark secret involving the ivory trade. Will Jean find Greg? Will Gary have a change of heart about women? Just who in the heck is the queen????? Find out in Queen of the Amazons!

The film starred Patricia Morison (billed as Patricia Morrison) as Jean, Robert Lowery as Gary, Bruce Edwards as Greg Jones, J. Edward Bromberg as Gabby the cook, and Amira Moustafa as Zita, the Amazon Queen. The film also starred Wilson Benge, Keith Richards (not THAT Keith Richards), and John Miljan (who also narrated the film). Of special note is Cay Forester. She portrayed Zita’s right hand woman, Sugi.

The film is just okay. It blazes no new trails in the jungle adventure genre. It’s pretty much a run-of-the-mill jungle film full of sequences of dialogue and action with a ton of stock animal and tribal footage laced in between. Morrison’s Jean is a strong female lead, as is Moustafa’s Zita. Ultimately I believe that Sugi (Forester) should be the queen of the Amazons, however, because she’s pretty much the only lady of action when things go south in the film.

Thanks for checking out Queen Of The Amazons with me. If you’ve seen it, let me know what you think about it in the comments section. I’ve got a special Jurassic Park post coming very soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that one. Also, Calcasieu Serialfest is coming up at the end of this month and the Houston Horror Film Festival is next month! I’ll be attending both, so let me know if you’ll be going as well so that we can meet up with one another!

Classic Cinema: A Fool There Was (1915)

“Kiss me, my fool!”

Not to be confused with the 1922 silent film of the same name and based upon the same play, 1915’s A Fool There Was is a crucial piece of cinematic history. It is the first starring role for Theda Bara, the woman that most cinephiles consider to be the first cinematic femme fatale, and is also believed to be the source for the term vamp, which is a shortened version of The Vampire, the name of Bara’s character in the film. It also features a very important plot point which I’ll talk about later in this post as it is a spoiler.

In the silent film, a wealthy lawyer billed as John Schuyler, The Husband, is selected to be a diplomat in England. When his wife and daughter must stay behind to take care of his ill sister-in-law, Schuyler is seduced by The Vampire, a woman who charms successful men, enjoys all of their riches, and then leaves them in ruins. She’s fresh off of her last victim, who commits suicide on the deck of the cruise ship headed for England. She nonchalantly tells a crew member to clean up the “mess” of the poor man and then pursues Schuyler. Schuyler falls hard for the Vampire and, despite multiple letters and telegrams, refuses to return to his family. His torrid affair causes an international scandal and he is relieved of his duties. He returns to the United States with the Vampire, who has drained him of his money and his sanity. Can his wife and daughter win him back? What will happen to the Vampire? Watch A Fool There Was and find out!

Bara was simply amazing as The Vampire. She was seductive and beautiful, but sinister and funny at the same time. It’s easy to see why she became a massive silent film star based upon her performance in this film. Edward Jose portrayed Schuyler, and his spiral into foolish lust and, ultimately, total insanity is played with perfection. Mabel Frenyear portrayed The Wife and Runa Hodges played The Daughter. Both of them did excellent jobs. The cast was rounded out by Victor Benoit as One Of The Victims, Clifford Bruce as The Friend, and Minna Gale as The Doctor’s Fiancee. The Doctor was portrayed by Frank Powell. He also wrote the screen adaptation of the original Porter Emerson Browne play that the film is based upon and is often credited as the person that discovered Theda Bara and launched her career. This is also the film debut of May Allison. She portrayed The Wife’s Sister and eventually became a massively popular silent film star in her own right.

Spoiler Alert!!!!! Skip this paragraph if you don’t want to know how the film ends!!!

As mentioned earlier, A Fool There Was is important for a number of reasons. It launched Bara’s career, making her one of the earliest, if not the first, cinematic femme fatale. It also introduced the term “vamp” to describe a woman of questionable morals who bleeds successful men dry. Finally, it’s important due to the fact that the film ends on a sour note. Much like when the Empire wins at the end of The Empire Strikes Back, the Vamp (Bara) walks away from the Schuyler situation completely unscathed, ready to find and seduce her next victim. Schuyler is reunited with his family, but only long enough for them to watch him die a complete wreck. It’s a sad ending to a sad film, and it’s definitely worth checking out. Runa Hodges deserves accolades for her gripping performance as the Daughter as she cries for her father to return and he ignores her by literally turning away from her and looking in the opposite direction as she continues to beg him to come home. It’s an excellent scene and perhaps the best one in the film.

Producer William Fox and writer/actor Frank Powell knew what they had with Bara, and had her appear in a number of publicity shots for the film. In the photos, Bara is scantily clad and shown in a number of poses with a human skeleton. These promotional photos increased interest in the film and in Bara. Fox and Powell also released a fake biography about Bara, claiming that she was an Arabian dancer and a woman full of exotic desires. This fake biography and the photos cemented her place as one of the first sex symbols in film.

One of the promotional shots for A Fool There Was featuring Theda Bara with a skeleton.

I hope that you enjoyed this look back at one of cinema’s most important silent films. Sadly, only six of Theda Bara’s films are known to still be in existence. She appeared in over forty films, most of which were filmed and released between 1915 and 1921. Her final appearance was in the 1926 short, Madame Mystery. Her final full-length feature appearance was in 1925’s The Unchastened Woman.

Thanks for checking out my post! Later this month I’ll be attending Calcasieu Serialfest in Sulphur, LA. Hopefully you will be able to join me at this FREE event!

Outpost: Top Notch Hamburgers

7525 Burnet Rd, Austin, Texas

As I’ve said many, many times over the year, Dazed And Confused is one of my favorite films. From Wooderson and Cynthia to Pink and Jodi, I love all of the characters in the movie. I love the music, the style, and the overall feel of this movie. It is both a true American classic and a uniquely Austin film. One of the things that I love the most about this flick is the fact that many of the locations still exist and can be visited. I recently visited Austin to catch up with some family and to seek out some of the film’s locations.

Initially, my plan was to visit as many of the film’s locations as possible while visiting Austin. Time and my work had other plans, however, and I had to pick one location to check out. That location was a no-brainer. I had to go to Top Notch and eat a cheeseburger!

My primary reason for visiting Top Notch was to see a part of Dazed And Confused history and I was not disappointed. Originally opened in 1971, the restaurant has changed very little over the years. The dining room and counter are sealed in the 1970s. Heck, even the bathroom, with its wood paneling and single light fixture, screams 1970s. The old Top Notch sign still pierces the night sky with promises of great food and memories. It’s perfect and I absolutely loved it.

My secondary reason for checking out Top Notch was the food. I had a #2 cheeseburger combo. It was excellent. It had great flavor and just enough grease to appease my belly. Some of my relatives chose to eat fried chicken and it looked amazing. I plan on having it on my next trip to Austin.

Melvin’s “Soul Pole” paddle and O’Bannion’s “FAHQ” paddle along with other film paraphernalia and a VHS of the film.

There was a shadowbox with Melvin and O’Bannion’s paddles from the film. Also in the box was a VHS copy of the film and a few more items from the movie as well. You could also purchase Top Notch caps and shirts.

I highly recommend visiting Top Notch whether or not you’ve seen Dazed And Confused. The movie was my main reason for visiting, but the food and the service were “top notch” as well. Top Notch is truly a cool experience, and I definitely plan on visiting again. Be sure to check out their Facebook page and their website for more information, history, upcoming events, and photos.

Thanks for checking out my post! I’ll have more Dazed And Confused posts popping up as I continue my year-long celebration of its thirty year anniversary along with Jurassic Park and Tombstone.

All photos by me.

Cult Classic: Santa Sangre (1989)

“My hands! My hands!”

Alejandro Jodorowsky takes viewers on a mind-bending ride in 1989’s Santa Sangre. In the film, a young man named Fenix goes on a killing spree at the request of his mother. The audience has to determine whether or not everything that is happening in the film is real or just a vision dreamed up by Fenix. It’s a bizarre film that definitely is not for everyone, but I really, really enjoyed it.

The film begins with Fenix in an asylum, fully nude and acting animalistic. We then go back in time to Fenix’ youth where he performs in his father’s circus as a magician. His mother, Concha, also performs at the circus and is a member of the cult of Santa Sangre. The cult is based around a young female folk saint who was brutally raped and then had her arms cut off by her assailants. The followers believe that a perpetual pool of the young girl’s blood flows at the site of the church. The property owner wants to destroy the church and when a local priest discovers that the pool of blood is nothing more than paint, he allows the destruction to proceed. Heartbroken, Concha and young Fenix return to the circus. Fenix befriends a young deaf mute girl and his father, Orgo, begins having an affair with the girl’s mother, the Tattooed Lady. When Concha discovers the Tattooed Lady and Orgo having sex, she throws acid on his crotch. In a rage, Orgo slices Concha’s arms off with his throwing knives. He then stumbles into the street and slices his own throat. The deaf mute girl, Alma, witnesses his suicide. Fenix is locked in a trailer and catches only glimpses of what is happening.

The audience is then brought back to the present where Fenix manages to escape from the asylum and reunites with his armless mother. The duo perform in a local stage show where Fenix plays his mother’s arms. Soon enough, the Tattooed Woman that Orgo was having an affair with is murdered. Then more women are murdered. It’s revealed that Concha is forcing Fenix to “be her arms” so that she can murder women whom she sees as a threat to her relationship with her son. Ultimately Alma and Fenix find one another and Fenix has to battle his mother in order to save Alma’s life. Is it all a dream? Where did Fenix get his tattoo? How did Concha survive Orgo’s attack? Watch Santa Sangre to find out!

At its core, the film is a tale of love, love of a son for his mother. Yeah, it’s a really twisted version of son/mother love, but it is love. Fenix is obviously unhinged after witnessing a number of traumatic events. He also knows that what he is doing is wrong and goes so far as to “fall” for a cross-dressing wrestler whom he believes is strong enough to fight him off and, possibly, murder him before he murders more women.

There are a number of disturbing scenes in this film. The original version received an NC-17 rating, but not for nudity or sexual situations. Nope, the rating was given due to the gory and disturbing violence. An R-rated version was also released, editing out some of the gore. Saying that, there’s still plenty of gore in the R-rated version and, as far as I know, all of the nudity and sexual situations are included as well. The majority of the nudity in the film comes during a dream sequence in which Fenix finds himself in a graveyard full of the women that he has murdered. All of them crawl out of their graves fully nude and painted white. There is nothing sexual at all about the sequence. In fact, it’s pretty disturbing. There are other, briefer moments of nudity as well, but they are also intended to disturb the viewer.

As far as the gore is concerned, there’s a ton of it in this film. From a group of people ripping flesh off of a dead elephant to buckets of blood flying out of Concha’s shoulders when her arms are cut off, this film has gore in spades. It is very unnerving to watch at times and I highly recommend watching it in a sober state. Oh, and did I mention that there are chickens falling out of the sky at one point? Unnerving indeed!

The film stars Axel and Adan Jodorowsky as adult and young Fenix, respectively. Concha is portrayed by Blanca Guerra. Orgo is played by Guy Stockwell. Thelma Tixou was the Tattooed Lady and her daughter, Alma, was portrayed as an adult by Sabrina Dennison and as a child by Faviola Elenka Tapia.

While I recommend watching this film, I can’t necessarily say that you’ll enjoy it. The intention of the film is to disturb you, so if that’s what you expect going in, you should be fine. The gore is plentiful and the nudity is unpleasant, so if you are expecting to be titillated, this is not the film for you.

Well, there you have it. Santa Sangre is a cult film in the truest of ways. Not only does it have a blood cult in it, it also has a massive cult following.

Thanks for checking out my post. I’ll be posting again real soon!

Outpost: Museum Of The Weird

412 East 6th Street, Austin, Texas

I recently took a weekend trip to Austin, TX to visit family and check out a few sites that I missed on my last few journeys to that wonderful central Texas land. One of the “must-see” places on my list was the Museum Of The Weird, located on 6th Street in downtown Austin. Little did I know that this would be one of the coolest, trippiest places for a guy like me to visit.

I don’t want to share too many photos of this museum, as the point of this post is to encourage you to check out the place for yourself. The entrance to the museum is a gift shop that features all sorts of creepy and cool trinkets, clothing, and souvenirs. After paying at the counter, you get to go on a self-guided tour through three stories of artifacts, relics, informational displays, and a wax museum. Be sure to check every door, latch, handle, and drawer while exploring the museum, you never know what you’ll find!

The first floor of the museum includes a Texas Bigfoot display, mummies, mermaids, and more interesting oddities. Some of the things on display are real artifacts while others are recreations. When entering the second floor, you’ll actually go outside into an interior grotto-like area. Check all of the doors! One will lead you into a display of the Minnesota Ice Man! Another door will lead you into a circus freak/oddities area that once served as Johnny Depp’s kitchen!

The third floor (also accessed from outside) features a wax museum loaded with iconic horror movie monsters from Universal, Hammer Horror, and other studios. Look everywhere! There are tons of monsters on display and some will be above you! Some of my favorites include the Creature From The Black Lagoon, the Wolf Man, and Lon Chaney, Sr. as the Hunchback Of Notre Dame.

I picked up a t-shirt before leaving the museum and left with a ton of memories of one of the coolest places in Austin. You can park curbside in front of the museum or at any of the lots downtown, most of which are walking distance to the museum. I visited on Saturday morning at 10 AM. Parking curbside was free for three hours, so take advantage of that if you get the chance.

Thanks for checking out my post! More Austin posts are coming soon!

Shazam! Fury Of The Gods (2023)

“I’m an idiot. I don’t deserve these powers.”

As a fan of Captain Marvel/Shazam from way back, I really enjoyed 2019’s Shazam! film. It was funny, had a solid cast and story, and I felt that it really captured the essence of the modern Shazam! comics. I hoped that 2023’s Shazam! Fury Of The Gods would do the same. While it definitely did retain the original film’s strong cast and story, director David F. Sandberg struggled to find a good balance between the humor, horror, and action.

All of the first film’s cast returned with the exception of Michelle Borth, who portrayed Mary Marvel (adult Mary Bromfield) in the original movie. Grace Caroline Currey (young Mary Bromfield in the original film) portrayed Mary in both her human and super form, apparently due to the fact that she was now an adult and no longer needed an adult form as a superhero. Zachary Levi reprised his role as Shazam! and Asher Angel returned as Billy Batson. Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu, and Rachel Zegler starred as Hespera, Kalypso, and Anthea, respectively.

In the film, Hespera, Kalypso, and Anthea steal the broken pieces of the Wizard’s staff and force him to fuse it back together so that they can reclaim the powers stolen from the gods and rebuild the realm of the gods. This means that they target the Shazam family and intend to take their powers one by one. Shazam is doing his best to keep the family together but age and consequence have the group splitting apart. As the daughters of Atlas begin picking off family members, Shazam and his remaining superpowered family devise a plan to defeat the trio. A few (highly predictable) twists are tossed in for good measure, but the film is ultimately just too silly and a bit dull. I enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as the first film.

Much of the film’s humor felt forced. The action, while well done, didn’t hold my attention. Also, despite this film being billed as a family movie, the horror was amped up from the first film and so was the body count. A ton of innocent people are hurt and/or killed in this film including a group of people of all ages in a museum who are forced to turn on one another and then ultimately turned into stone statues. There’s also a forced suicide in the film as well as a number of violent monster attacks on innocent people. This might be unsettling for younger viewers.

I have to admit that Lucy Liu outdid herself in this film. She stole the show and that’s hard to do whenever Helen Mirren is in a film with you. The CGI was very well done and the music was pretty solid. I also enjoyed one of the cameos in this film. I won’t spoil it for you, but if you’re a fan of the 1970s Shazam! series, keep an eye out for a certain fellow in a certain shirt. There’s another cameo as well, but I won’t spoil that one either.

I picked the film up on Blu-ray at Target. The Target exclusive also featured a DVD of the film, exclusive packaging, and six collector cards featuring the Wizard, the Tree of Life Dragon, the daughters of Atlas, and Shazam!

Predictable, loaded with forced humor, and dull at times, I still enjoyed Shazam! Fury Of The Gods and recommend that you check it out if you’re a fan of the Big Red Cheese. The character’s future in the newly created DCU of James Gunn is unknown, so this might be your last chance to check him out for a long time.

Thanks for checking out my post!

Jurassic Park Amber Collection: Robert Muldoon (2021)

“They remember.”

Robert Muldoon, as portrayed by Bob Peck in 1993’s Jurassic Park, is one of my favorite characters from both the films and the books. If you read the book, you know that Muldoon survived the events of Jurassic Park. Sadly, he was chosen to die in place of John Hammond in the film, as Hammond became a sympathetic character during the film’s production. While I hated to see him perish, I was happy to see him on the big screen.

Muldoon joined Mattel’s since-discontinued Amber Collection in 2021. I only recently picked up a figure for myself and I’m very glad that I did. Muldoon comes with an additional head and an additional pair of hands. He also comes with his token hat and a dino-prod. Sadly, the figure doesn’t come with Muldoon’s signature Franchi SPAS-12 shotgun, which he totes around throughout most of the film.

The figure features an excellent resemblance to Bob Peck. One of the heads has sweat droplets on it that adds to its realism. His clothing and accessories are also highly detailed. Most notably, his employee badge looks great! I also love the added details of his watch and bracelets. His vest can be removed by popping off his arms, but I don’t recommend it.

The figure features at least twenty-three points of articulation. That’s what I counted. None of his POA are hindered by his clothes, hair, etc. He’s also slightly taller than Dr. Sattler in this collection. If my memory serves me correctly, he was taller than her in the film as well.

If you’re a fan of Muldoon like I am, I highly recommend getting your hands on this figure before the ebay vultures realize what a gem this figure is in the Amber Collection. It’s available from a number of online retailers and as of this writing, it was selling for between fifteen and twenty bucks.

Thanks for checking out my post. See you again soon!

Cult Classic: Fright Night (1985)

“Jerry Dandrige is a vampire!”

1985 was a great year for movies. Back To The Future, The Breakfast Club, and Cocoon are just a few of the films released that year. Horror films also had a great year with classics like Silver Bullet and A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge being released. A number of cult horror films were also released including Ghoulies, Day Of The Dead, Lifeforce, and the film that I’m taking a look at today, Fright Night.

The film’s story centers around young Charley Brewster’s (William Ragsdale) belief that his new neighbor, Jerry Dandrige (Chris Sarandon), is a vampire who is responsible for recent unsolved murders in the area. When his girlfriend, Amy (Amanda Bearse), and goofy bud, “Evil” Ed (Stephen Geoffreys), don’t believe his claims about Dandrige, he seeks out the help of Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall), a washed-up actor who hosts a local late-night horror show. The pair then have to face off against Dandrige, his familiar and guardian named Billy (Jonathan Stark), and recently turned Amy and Ed. Will the duo survive the night? Watch Fright Night and find out!

The film does a wonderful job of combining horror and comedy. Most of the comedic moments are split between McDowall and Geoffreys, but Ragsdale gets a few funny moments of his own, as does Sarandon in some very subtle ways. It’s worth noting how easily Bearse transitioned from being the somewhat milquetoast and virginal Amy to her very seductive vampire version.

The film also features an amazing score by Brad Fiedel and a soundtrack with songs by artists like Devo, Autograph, and J. Geils Band. On top of that, the visual effects, headed up by Richard Edlund (co-founder of Industrial Light & Magic), were amazing. Practical effects included a werewolf transformation, a large bat attack, numerous fangs and gory mouthpieces, and Chris Sarandon’s final look in full vampire form.

The film would spawn a sequel in 1988 and would be remade in 2011 starring Anton Yelchin as Charley, David Tennant as Peter Vincent, and Colin Farrell as Dandrige. Imogen Poots co-starred as Amy and Christopher Mintz-Plasse portrayed Evil Ed. A direct sequel to the original film has been rumored to be in the works for many years.

I had the immense pleasure of meeting both Ragsdale and Bearse last year at the Houston Horror Film Festival. They were both very nice. Bearse was exceptionally cordial and I highly recommend meeting her and Ragsdale. Oh, and despite my enjoyment of Fright Night, I had them autograph photos for me from their most popular sitcoms, Married…With Children and Herman’s Head.

Be sure to check out Fright Night. I also recommend the sequel and the remake (although neither are superior to the original). A sequel was also made for the remake, but I’m not a big fan of it.

Thanks for checking out my post. See you soon!

Renfield (2023)

Relationship Therapy

Nicholas Hoult heads up an excellent cast in 2023’s slightly bonkers Renfield. The film utilizes characters from Bram Stoker’s famed book, Dracula…….to a degree. Specifically, the film utilizes characters from Stoker’s book as portrayed by Dwight Frye and Bela Lugosi in 1931’s Dracula and expands upon their stories. Hoult takes on the title role and Nicolas Cage stars as Count Dracula. In the film, Renfield has been the count’s loyal servant for decades, bringing him fresh victims to feed upon and taking care of his daily needs. Renfield has also been given the gift (or curse) of immortality and super speed and strength in order to stop any would-be vampire killers that come calling for Dracula’s head. Renfield has grown tired of being a servant and of the physical, mental, and emotional abuse that he must endure from the count.

While in New Orleans, Renfield begins attending group therapy for people in codependent and abusive relationships. He tracks down the abusers in the relationships and uses them as food for Dracula. He also begins to listen and participate in therapy and decides to break free from the count. He also crosses paths with the Lobo family, a crime syndicate that has all of New Orleans in its clutches, and one of the last honest police officers in the city, a young woman named Rebecca (Awkwafina). Renfield teams up with Rebecca in order to take down the Lobo family and Dracula. The Lobos and Dracula, on the other hand, team up in turn and give chase to the duo. Will Renfield break free of Count Dracula’s rule? Will the Lobo family run roughshod over New Orleans and then the world with Count Dracula as their leader? Watch Renfield to find out!

Renfield performed poorly in cinemas and, in all honesty, I don’t know why. Yes, it’s a horror comedy that goes hard with the humor and even harder with the gore, but it’s not to a degree that it should turn off fans of either the classic Universal Monsters or any more modern horror fans. It just seemed to struggle to find an audience and that’s sad in my opinion. We probably won’t get another Renfield film and I want one. We deserve to see these characters at least one more time.

This film is fun. Cage hams it up big time as Count Dracula and Nicholas Hoult does a great job as an updated version of Renfield. As much as I dislike Awkwafina’s stage name, I have really grown to like her as an actress. She provides plenty of laughs in this movie. Ben Schwartz is cast perfectly as Teddy Lobo in his first role as a villain. He’s probably the most believable character in the film. His mother is portrayed by Shoreh Aghdashloo to sinister perfection. The rest of the cast, especially the group therapy members, are excellent as well.

One other thing that I’d love to mention is how well this film nailed the corruption in the city of New Orleans. As a Louisiana native who has lived here all of my life, it’s a well known fact that New Orleans’ politicians and public servants are almost always corrupt. The film also does a nice job of presenting different locations around New Orleans that natives will know very well.

Give Renfield a chance. Fans of the classic Universal Monsters and modern horror fans will find something to enjoy about this movie. I know that I enjoyed it!

Thanks for checking out my post. See you soon!

Tunes: Duran Duran Future Past Tour 2023

June 9, 2023, The Woodlands, TX

June is my birth month. That being said, I was a bit shocked (and happy) whenever my good friend, Patrick Bennett (who co-hosts the Filmsquatch Podcast with me and hosts a number of film festivals in southwest Louisiana), asked me if I’d like to join him for the Duran Duran concert in The Woodlands, Texas, on June 9th. I pulled a few strings, got the day off of work, and prepared for what I hoped would be an excellent show. I’ve always been a fan of Duran Duran and had a glass mirror that featured the band on it that I got way back in 1985 or 1986.

L to R: Roger Taylor (drums), Simon LeBon (lead vocals), John Taylor (bass), and Nick Rhodes (keyboards)

I did a little research online and found out that Bastille and Nile Rodgers & CHIC were opening the show. To be completely honest, I was very unfamiliar with Bastille. I knew only one of the band’s songs, Pompeii, and wondered if others of my age and older would know the group. I had nothing to fear, however, as the group opened the show with a solid, high-energy set that primed the crowd for the second act, the legendary Nile Rodgers & CHIC. For those of you who don’t know, Rodgers could have easily headlined this tour given the fact that he is a multi-winning Grammy artist as a producer, writer, and performer. Not only did he found CHIC, but he’s written and produced songs and albums for artists as varied as David Bowie, Diana Ross, The B-52s, Beyonce, Madonna, INXS, and Duran Duran. His music has also been sampled by artists like the Sugarhill Gang. On top of that, Rodgers has worked on soundtracks for numerous films including Feeling Minnesota and The Flintstones.

Bastille

Nile Rodgers & CHIC tore through a set loaded with chart-toppers including Modern Love, Good Times, Le Freak, Get Lucky, Material Girl, and I’m Coming Out. The set was bookended by CHIC songs and featured full length performances of songs by other artists that were written and produced by Rodgers and a medley that seemed to run nonstop for about thirty minutes. It was an amazing show and I really wished that their set was longer. I definitely recommend checking out Nile Rodgers & CHIC if you get the chance.

Nile Rodgers & CHIC

After two great opening acts, Duran Duran was set to take the stage. Four of the band’s five key members during its 80’s heyday were in the show. Founding member and keyboardist Nick Rhodes and drummer Roger Taylor were perched up at the back of the stage while lead singer Simon LeBon and bass player John Taylor roamed the stage throughout the band’s set. Guitar duties were handled by longtime touring guitarist Dominic Brown, in place of Andy Taylor, who has been fighting illness for many years.

Duran Duran at the opening of their set. Photo by Eric Sauseda.

The group slid effortlessly between hits, deep cuts for hardcore fans, and covers of Acceptable In The 80s, Super Freak, and White Lines. While the first two songs were incorporated into Girls On Film and Lonely In Your Nightmare, respectively, White Lines was played in its entirety as it was originally released on the band’s Thank You album from 1995.

With large screens behind them and the signature dual big screens on either side of the stage at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, the group gave fans a show filled with sound and dramatic visuals. From black and white video to reserved darker colors and blasts of brightly colored graphics, the band looked and sounded amazing on the stage. I especially enjoyed the homage to classic horror franchises such as the Hammer films during Lonely In Your Nightmare.

LeBon and the rest of the band appeared to be having entirely too much fun performing hits for the crowd. Roger Taylor effortlessly played the drums while John Taylor laid down bass line after bass line, keeping the group on track. Nick Rhodes, arguably the coolest member of the band, flew across the keys with precision and provided a few lighthearted moments for the crowd as well. They played all of their biggest hits including Hungry Like The Wolf, A View To A Kill, The Wild Boys, The Reflex, and, the show closer, Rio. In all, it was a really fun night and I’m glad that I had the opportunity to experience it.

While I am more of a hard rock and metal fan these days, my youth was littered with a number of new wave, pop rock, and other bands. Duran Duran was and still is one of those rare bands that managed to pull me away from bands like KISS, Poison, Metallica, and others, if only for a few moments. I highly recommend checking out Duran Duran on their Future Past tour. It was great.

Thanks for checking out my post. I know that I haven’t been posting as much as I normally do in recent weeks, but I’ve been dealing with a few real world issues. Those issues are slowly resolving, so be on the lookout for more posts soon!

Set list taken from Duran Duran’s official Facebook page.