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André Paine's rating
, The Killers look on the brightside
By
André Paine
24 Feb 2009
Brandon Flowers demonstrated impeccable pop taste when he presented the Pet Shop Boys with their outstanding achievement Brit award last week. So it’s a shame the Killers’ third album, Day & Age, is more Hall and Oates than Tennant and Lowe.
At least its flamboyance lends itself to the arena setting. For the first of two nights at the O2, the palm trees on stage underlined some of the record’s sunny, vaguely exotic Eighties sound, while Flowers’s feathery epaulettes suggested just the right amount of absurdity for a fully fledged pop star.
The Las Vegas band are still enjoying robust sales but their blistering live show is the best way to experience some of these new songs.
Flowers chanted his way into the opening Spaceman alongside Dave Keuning’s driving guitars and, shorn of the slick production, the tune came to life.
But it was a brace of old songs, Somebody Told Me and Smile Like You Mean It, that made the O2 erupt. After informing us that his band were “at your service”, a loose-limbed Flowers strutted with a Jagger-like gait, occasionally playing his keyboard to the expectant crowd.
However, the saxophone player was a clear warning that The Killers intended to recreate their hideous, honking experiments from Day & Age.
Worst of the lot was Joyride, which had the sort of chorus that Scissor Sisters might reject for being a bit too obvious.
They recovered with a rousing For Reasons Unknown, while Neon Tiger sounded like Flowers was trying to compete with younger rivals MGMT. Equally, the throbbing hit Human was — apart from the lyrics — hard to fault.
But the early songs were full of charm as well as air-punching drama, especially a glorious Mr Brightside. These were the anthems the fans sang on the journey home.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
Reader views (6)
Why is everyone so surprised that a band would play 8 songs from a new album? It is after all the Day and Age Tour, you are a few years too late for the Hot Fuss Tour. They actually blend in a lot of songs from all 3 studio albums, plus Sawdust. The problem with the Killers is that they are not predictable enough, each of their albums has a different sound. Maybe for their next album they could leave the sound tracks the same and just throw in a few new lyrics, that way people will think they are listening to the old stuff, they might save some money on their text bill at the next show!!! lol don't be boring........the Killers aren't... ha ha
- Kenna Smith, San Francisco, USA., 08/07/2009 00:35
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Great concert - loved the choice of material - good balance between old and new but..... 1 hr 35 mins from a band of their stature ? - sorry but that is short change. Not much rapport between BF and the audience - didn't even introduce the band/musicians. And very little improv / solos - most of the songs were as per the studio version. Having said that they got the sound balance just right - very clear vocals above the instruments and that is not always the case at the 02. Still a fantastic gig - can't wait to see them again.
- Mike, London, 26/02/2009 23:41
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First time i've seen the Killers and it won't be the last. Hearing all the new stuff of their ace new album was excellent, the only downer was the amount of people in the audience who had just come to hear old stuff, and got bored early on. Though there were equally those who only knew the newer stuff and looked a bit bemused at some of their iconic older songs. I guess it is hard to tread the balance between your older, favoured songs, and the new stuff that you must be really excited about performing. Either way, I thought it was a great fun, energetic, concert, and a great venue.
- Emma, London, 25/02/2009 19:22
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amazing gig, started with a fantastic version of Spaceman and never let up till When You Were Young at the end of the encore. The new stuff sounded great, particular highlights were Dustland Fairytale and This is Your Life. Mixed in with all the old anthems. Good to hear Bling in there too. To those who say they played too many songs from the new album - they played 8 in out of 20 songs from Day & Age - hardly too much when you've just released a new album. And which the new songs sounded dulll?! - none that I can think of. And to all those who left either before or during the encore (to miss the rush?!) - why go to a gig if you don't want to watch the band and take in the occasion?! The encore was incredible and was a great way to end the night.
- James, london, 24/02/2009 12:51
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Couldnt agree less with the comment above. This is after all a tour to promote the new album. Those of us who had listened to it actually enjoyed hearing the tracks live. Overall a good show with some real quality moments, even some from the new album!
- Iain, London, 24/02/2009 12:45
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i'm sorry to say that this was a dreadful concert. Too many songs from the new album made for a very dull first hour. Most of the people around me were texting friends. By the time they got around to Mr Brightside, i think much of the damage had been done. Still, the O2 is a much better venue than Wembley!
- P, london, 24/02/2009 11:42
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