In the past whenever the Killers performed they never quite managed to impress me live. So as I begrudgingly travelled to Capital FM arena to catch them on this sell out tour, I was already beginning to wish that I had took my friends offer up to attend a bonfire and fireworks party instead of having to endure another live performance from The Killers.
The stage was already set up awaiting the arrival of the band to start.
However the Killers broke tradition and strolled casually onto the stage whilst the main house lights were on. It took a few seconds for the penny to drop that the people on stage weren't the road crew but were the actual band.
Lead vocalist Brandon Flowers was wearing a stylish black leather jacket and black trousers as he ploughed straight into set opener 'Mr Brightside'.
In my humble opinion it takes either a very brave or very stupid band to open with one of their biggest hits. Regardless of their stupidity or bravery it had set the evening off to a thunderous high octane pace with the entire audience standing up and singing to every word of this hook-laden, sing-a-long anthem.
Hit after hit kept coming like a torrent of vicious hammer blows to the head, 'Smile Like You Mean It' and 'Somebody Told Me' were cleverly fused into the setlist alongside some of the other fan favourites as well as new tracks such as 'The Way It Was' and 'Flesh and Bone' taken from the current album 'Battle Born'.
Brandon could have quite easily have spoken to the crowd and kept reminding them about the new album and singles. However the band decided not to bother with that and just let the songs speak for themselves. This shows how confident the band is about their songwriting ability. 'Runaways' and 'From Here on Out' both have the potential to become overplayed radio fodder and raise The Killers profile even further.
Despite Brandon being the band member that takes the limelight and is the person most people relate to the Killers. It needs to be mentioned that the Brandon is surrounded on stage by exceptionally gifted musicians.
Ronnie Vannucci Jr pounds away at the drums in such a hectic thrashing sort of way that you could be forgiven for thinking he is playing for a thrash metal band. Guitarist Dave Keuning throughout the evening kept the hook-laden riffs coming with such laser precision that very few guitarists possess. Bassist Mark Stoermer kept the pulsating rhythm belting out and kept exciting parts of the anatomy that other instruments just can't reach.
Aside from the vocals Brandon himself would claw away at the keyboards hidden behind a lit up lightning bolt that was in the centre of the stage to pump out those pop-synth melodies that have helped create that unique Killers sound.
Songs from all of their albums (Hot Fuss, Sam's Town, Day & Age, and Battle Born) were included in the setlist without being weighted to favour any one particular album.
They finished their set with 'When You Were Young'. As per usual the crowd cheered for the band to come back and perform an encore.
Most bands save their biggest hits for the encore, whereas The Killers had already performed their big hits earlier on in the night. So you would be forgiven for thinking the encore would be an anticlimax.
Bizarrely, it was anything but an anticlimax. 'Jenny Was a Friend of Mine' and 'All These Things I Have Done' were well received by the audience. This included an intimate sing-along to the refrain of 'I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier."
The Killers then closed the show with 'Battle Born', which is a grandiose riff laden rock song with sweeping guitar parts and epic vocal parts.
It has been a long time since a live show has blown me away, but this performance did exactly that. Some people mention artists who have that x-factor - that magical ingredient and after watching The Killers perform. It is safe to say that right at this current time The Killers have that x-factor.
It could be argued that their hiatus away from each other for two years has probably given the band members that passion and excitement back to be playing together on stage. In previous years they just haven't seemed at ease with each other on stage and at times it came across as a bunch of individuals who had turned up to play music on the same stage. Whereas throughout this show at Capital FM arena, the entire band looked excited, motivated and focussed to show the world that currently they are one of the top live bands.
If that's what it takes to keep their live shows this exceptional, then they should consider another two year gap after this tour.
This was a show that was all killer and no filler!!
Setlist:-
Mr. Brightside
The Way It Was
Smile Like You Mean It
Spaceman
Flesh and Bone
Deadlines and Commitments
Bling (Confession of a King)
Miss Atomic Bomb
Human
Somebody Told Me
Here With Me
For Reasons Unknown
From Here On Out
A Dustland Fairytale
Read My Mind
Runaways
When You Were Young
Encore:
Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
All These Things That I've Done
Battle Born
article by: Luke Seagrave
published: 06/11/2012 09:53
FUTURE GIGS
sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.