Concert Review: Duran Duran & TSAR @ the Polaris Amphitheatre, Columbus, OH (8/20/00)
Believe it or not, the main draw for this show was TSAR. Hear me out.
TSAR was a band my friend Jason happened upon and shared during the summer of 2000. It was over-the-top, glimmering, sugary-sweet power pop that would make Cheap Trick and Big Star proud, but with a twist of California punk and glam metal. Songs like Kathy Fong Is The Bomb were mindless and wonderful, a perfect summer soundtrack album for driving around.
The band, in a short opening set, were brash and bratty, just what you’d expect, but dwarfed by the giant stage. Clearly a band meant for smaller venues, where the audience could get up close and personal, sweat and bodies bouncing around. They concluded their set with a rocking version of a Backstreet Boys song, and that’s about all you need to know.
Duran Duran were fine, but the most memorable aspect of their show was what an awkward dancer Simon LeBond was/is. He didn’t so much as dance as spasm to the music. Very weird stuff.
DURAN DURAN SETLIST
Last Day On Earth
Hungry Like The Wolf
New Moon On Monday
Playing With Uranium
Come Undone
Big Bang Generation
Ordinary World
Save A Prayer
Hallucinating Elvis
White Lines
Mars Meets Venus
Lava Lamp
Skin Trade
Too Much Information
The Wild Boys
Rio
Notorious
Girls On Film
The Reflex
TSAR was a band my friend Jason happened upon and shared during the summer of 2000. It was over-the-top, glimmering, sugary-sweet power pop that would make Cheap Trick and Big Star proud, but with a twist of California punk and glam metal. Songs like Kathy Fong Is The Bomb were mindless and wonderful, a perfect summer soundtrack album for driving around.
The band, in a short opening set, were brash and bratty, just what you’d expect, but dwarfed by the giant stage. Clearly a band meant for smaller venues, where the audience could get up close and personal, sweat and bodies bouncing around. They concluded their set with a rocking version of a Backstreet Boys song, and that’s about all you need to know.
Duran Duran were fine, but the most memorable aspect of their show was what an awkward dancer Simon LeBond was/is. He didn’t so much as dance as spasm to the music. Very weird stuff.
DURAN DURAN SETLIST
Last Day On Earth
Hungry Like The Wolf
New Moon On Monday
Playing With Uranium
Come Undone
Big Bang Generation
Ordinary World
Save A Prayer
Hallucinating Elvis
White Lines
Mars Meets Venus
Lava Lamp
Skin Trade
Too Much Information
The Wild Boys
Rio
Notorious
Girls On Film
The Reflex