A lively Duran Duran brings renewed energy to old hits at Little Caesars Arena show

Few bands defined the 1980s like Duran Duran, and when the group headed to Detroit on Saturday on the tail-end of a lengthy 40th anniversary tour, you had to figure a retro night was in the cards.

But while nostalgia was part of the deal at a packed Little Caesars Arena, the group certainly wasn’t just coasting on the past for a paycheck. The nearly two-hour show saw the band invested in the cause, infusing its old stuff with fresh energy and presenting a handful of ambitious newer songs that largely held their own in the set.

Vocalist Simon Le Bon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor remain the core of a band that found global superstardom with camera-friendly appeal and radio-ready fare that blended pop synths, rock guitars, funk elements and big choruses with an arty sensibility that hasn’t always been given its due.

That hit concoction provided many of Saturday’s highlights, namely via Duran Duran staples such as “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Rio,” “Notorious” and “The Wild Boys.”

But there was goodness to be found in the non-platinum music, too, most notably the songs plucked from the band’s 1981 self-titled debut album: They included atmospheric show opener “Night Boat,” the sharp-angled numbers “Friends of Mine” and “Careless Memories,” and the icy cool of “Girls on Film,” which capped Saturday’s regular set.

That edgier early material made an interesting contrast to the pair of warm, fluid hits from Duran Duran’s 1990s reboot — “Come Undone” and “Ordinary World” — the latter dedicated by Le Bon to war-torn Ukraine.

Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran performs during the Future Past North American Tour at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023

As always, Le Bon was the show’s ringleader, equal parts swagger and cheeky charm, and the 64-year-old singer sounded solid, nailing the wailing high notes on numbers such as “The Wild Boys.” Behind him were Rhodes, a reliable wizard among his battery of keyboards, and the steady-handed Roger Taylor on drums.

The infectious, popcorn bass lines undergirding much of the set reaffirmed that John Taylor is one of pop’s preeminent (if overlooked) bassists, and he was the stealth star of songs like “A View to a Kill,” “The Reflex” and, most notably, the show-closing “Rio.”

Guitarist Dom Brown, saxophonist Simon Willescroft and backing singers Rachael O’Connor and Anna Ross fleshed out the onstage ensemble.

The video elements and often abstract imagery that accompanied the music onstage were as you’d expect from a band that made its name during MTV’s golden age — an era that was saluted during “Is There Something I Should Know?” with a series of old pin-up media clippings.

The 2020s have found a newly reenergized Duran Duran, and the group’s second album in two years, “Danse Macabre,” is due Oct. 27, featuring new material alongside covers of songs by Billie Eilish, the Rolling Stones, Talking Heads and others. The album’s campy, Halloween-themed title track was performed Saturday for just the second time, following a debut in D.C. last week.

Simon Le Bon (left) and John Taylor of Duran Duran perform during the Future Past North American Tour at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023.

Detroit was among the final stops on the Future Past Tour, an outing launched more than a year and half ago, and Duran Duran arrived at LCA with a well-drilled show.

While the band has played the city of Detroit proper plenty over the years — a gigography that includes spots such as the Masonic Temple Theatre, Cobo Arena and Saint Andrew’s Hall — Saturday was the first show in 15 years, well before Little Caesars Arena came along in 20017 as part of a downtown resurgence.

“This is a city on the up, isn’t it?” Le Bon said Saturday. “We’ve had some great times in this town, but it’s the first time we’ve played a room like this.”

Le Bon would later return to the stage sporting a crowd-pleasing Detroit Red Wings jersey (captain Dylan Larkin’s No. 71) as Duran Duran wrapped up the night with a mass singalong on “Save a Prayer” and a reliably climactic, multitextured “Rio.”

Nile Rodgers & Chic open for Duran Duran at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023.

Nile Rodgers & Chic helped open Saturday’s musical festivities with an ebullient, lovable 45-minute set that mingled Chic’s own late-era disco work (“Le Freak,” “I Want Your Love,” “Good Times”) with hits the multifaceted Rodgers crafted for others, including David Bowie (“Let’s Dance”), Daft Punk (“Get Lucky”) and Michigan-born stars Diana Ross (“I’m Coming Out,” “Upside Down”) and Madonna (“Like a Virgin,” “Material Girl”).

Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Duran Duran brings renewed energy to old hits at Detroit tour stop