O2 Institute, BirminghamAt this intimate hometown date, bravura stagecraft is received with such enthusiasm that almost resurrects the band’s heyday
![Duran Duran review – still Wild Boys even in middle age](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/1657e3fcf92fd89ea81b8019c7b193c1a828f788/0_559_2000_1200/master/2000.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctcmV2aWV3LTQucG5n&enable=upscale&s=54f8d16a8b4385305aa646030eff6b3d)
‘Number two in Birmingham!” yells Simon Le Bon, kicking off a second sold-out home town show in the 1,500-capacity Institute. With fans crammed in like sardines, pandemic or no pandemic, and the band virtually in their faces, the much more intimate venue than Duran’s regular arenas gives a taste of what it must have been like to see them when they were the resident band at the Rum Runner club four decades ago.
The occasion – ahead of bigger shows – is to preview next month’s new album Future Past, from which tonight’s opener Invisible is taken. The brooding funk tune about a struggle to be heard in today’s world is helpfully illustrated when the band are all but drowned out by 1,500 screaming, middle-aged Durannies. 1983’s The Reflex and 1986’s Chic-influenced Notorious triggers waves of crowd hysteria that are never far away all night.