A couple of nights ago, The Killers performed at the Brit Awards, where Brandon Flowers (in the company of Lady GaGa) also appeared with the Pet Shop Boys during their career-spanning medley. Hopefully Brandon picked up a thing or two from Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, because going on current form, The Killers are unlikely to assemble a catalogue that can match PSB for consistent excellence.
Whilst I remain a staunch fan of the Las Vegas quartet’s debut album,Hot Fuss, their subsequent offerings have failed to win me over in a similar way. As such, there are long stretches of tonight’s show where I find myself feeling decidedly underwhelmed. Having said that, the group do open the show in considerable style. Brandon strides on wearing the Mad Max-style jacket he has favoured throughout the Day & Age campaign, and proceeds to work the crowd in hugely impressive fashion as the group tear into a brace of tracks from their current album.
‘Somebody Told Me’ and ‘Smile Like You Mean It’ are afforded a predictably euphoric response, while during ‘This Is Your Life’, Brandon – in much the same way that Dave Gahan has been encouraging Depeche Mode audiences to do for years during ‘Never Let Me Down’ – gets everyone to wave their arms from side to side, making for a fantastic sight.
Next up is ‘Joyride’, by some distance the best song on Day & Age. Brandon introduces it by saying “This used to be called ‘Vibration’, which is still possibly a better title. Oh well, you win some and you lose some. It’s a song about transcendence, sex and hope.” The track coasts along a gloriously gaudy, Duran Duran-style bassline from Mark Stoermer, and during the finale, a machine atop the stage pumps out bubbles onto the audience.
Unfortunately, it’s at this point that proceedings take a nosedive. The band churn out the dreariest material from both Sam’s Town and Day & Age, and – though I should emphasise that I’m definitely in the minority – I find myself feeling a bit bored, frankly. It’s not until the band conclude the main part of the set with thumping renditions of ‘Mr. Brightside’ and ‘All These Things That I Have Done’ that they once again capture my attention.
The encore also proves superb, thanks to rousing takes on ‘Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine’ and ‘When You Were Young’. However, the extended mid-gig lull means that this gig was only a qualified success. Plus, they didn’t play ‘Andy, You’re A Star’, the track which first turned me into a Killers fan and still, for me, their best song. Oh well, you win some and you lose some, to quote Brandon himself.