Duran Duran

Duran Duran was awesome last night!! If you would have told me when I was a teenager that I'd be seeing them perform that up close and personal someday, I would have absolutely freaked out.

The brand new Music Hall (this was the first official concert there) is like a large nightclub, with an open first floor and a second floor around the edges. Some chairs upstairs, but mostly standing space. We ended up in the middle of the crowd on the floor, about a third of the way back from the stage. We were packed in like sardines, but most of the time, I had a straight shot of John. There were those inevitable tall people every now and then blocking my view. Darn you, tall people! The stage could stand to be about 3 feet taller for these GA shows.

The concert was a perfect mix of old and new music. The audience was great. The band sounded amazing. They looked like they were having a fantastic time up there. I don't know about Anna Ross singing backup. She's really good, but still... Ah well- something for the guys in the audience.

One bad thing about the night- the most FUBAR concert exit process I've ever seen. When it was over, we all had to exit via the equivalent of about 4 small doors. The place holds 4400. People were shoving and squeezing just to get out to go home. It was crazy. Unless there is some secret wall that opens up, we would never ever have gotten out of there in a fire.

We exited right into a huge shower of water falling from an air conditioner on the roof. Eww. Everyone thought it was raining.

Next, we sat for 40 minutes waiting just to back out of our spot on the third floor of the garage. That was primarily due to the flow of people on the street blocking the exit from the garage. It would be nice if they would guide people out of the venue across the street. Of course, people would still get backed up crossing at the light.

So here's the Music Hall "exit strategy" I would suggest: exit the Music Hall and walk straight to the Warehouse District bar or restaurant of your choice. Have a drink and wait it out.

Two other tips during the concert: 1) Drink your drink and throw away the cup or can before you take a spot in the crowd. There is nowhere to throw away things out there, and you'll lose your spot if you move. 2) Get a spot upstairs if you can. There are some chairs and if you're short like me, you can see much better.