Lollapalooza

Walking around Grant Park early before the gates opened I could hear the Killers sound check in the distance. To be honest, I was really excited for the show, but not too impressed by what I heard. But I suppose that this is the reason bands have sound check because Sunday night when the Killers took the main stage, what I heard then was not even remotely close to what I had heard earlier that day.

The band sounded great, but it was an amazing show because of some many other elements that played into it. Take the crowd itself for example. Not only did every person sing along to every single word to every song, but I couldn’t tell if I was at a hard core rock show from the at least 50+ crowd surfers that jetted through the air, or at a Backstreet Boys show of the swarms of girls screaming at the top of their lungs every time front man Brandon Flowers flashed his big, beautiful smile (yes, I was one of those girls.)

Flowers moved through the stage as if he were not just merely singing songs, but telling stories. But behind all the drama of his movement, you could see he was just having fun. As serious as he tried to be to match the mood of the lyrics, Flowers couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear.

The lighting was chic and stylish with a metallic feel, reminding the crowd of the bands Vegas roots.

The Killers played a great set, all the singles, ranging from “Somebody Told Me” to “Human.” The crowd went crazy for “Dustland Fairytale” and when they closed the set with “All These Things I’ve Done”, we wanted more. As soon a The Killers exited the stage, cheers for an encore broke out by the crowed singing “I got soul but I’m not a soldier.”

The Killers answered our call and came back for two more songs. The hour and a half set flew by and the crowed loved every second of it. The Killers are a lot like Vegas themselves; Flashy, exciting, and somewhat risky. The music is great, but a lot of bands are great and don’t nearly have the success of the Killers. The Killers know what to do to win over a crowd. With out all the elements the show would have been just so so, but the lights, the crowd, the band’s presence, and most importantly the music, all made for one of my favorite Lollapalooza performances from ’09. After all, with out the lights and buzz, Vegas is just a deck of cards.