Allstate Arena

After patiently standing for three and a half hours, me and about 45,000 of my new best friends at Lollapalooza watched the road crew set up the stage for The Killers. There was not one, but two pianos entirely tiled with mirrors. A number of neon lights lined the front of the stage, Brandon Flower’s famous “k” keyboard stood majestically front and center, and a number of palm trees framed the stage. Suddenly the lights dimmed, and The Killers run onstage in a combustion of light and sound. The crowd roared as one of the best new bands in music began with the catchy and heartfelt lyrics of “Human”. Despite the chanting of the crowd, and the hundreds of heads and arms bobbing up and down in front of me, I couldn’t help but notice how eclectic the band was. Brandon Flowers, dressed in a proper three piece suit, wore entirely black, save the enormous brown feathered shoulder pads that highlighted his jacket. Guitarist Dave Keuning sported black pants and a black leather vest over a grey muscle shirt to compliment the curly, white boy fro that persistently reminded me of Slash. Bassist Mark Stoermer, quite the tall, lean, gentleman, was also dressed entirely in black but in a slightly more mysterious way than the other two. I turned my attention to the drummer, Ronnie Vannucci Jr, with his receding hairline and moustache. Had he been introduced to me in another context I could have easily mistaken him for a suburban insurance salesman at first glance. I wondered how they all wound up playing music together and then suddenly found myself grinning. They totally rocked and they totally rolled. They were The Killers, and I was impressed by their first impression.

Their second impression began and the less familiar “This is Your Life” floated from the stage. The crowd cheered, and then calmed after the heart pounding intro. Soon enough, though the power pop anthem “Somebody Told Me” had the audience jumping once again, and as Brandon’s familiar heart wrenching wail crossed the bridge of the song, I couldn’t help being overwhelmed by the respect I had for this band. Despite the millions of people they have played for since they debuted several years ago, their egos remain completely under control, humble even. As they played I watched them enjoy the intensely positive reception the crowd was giving them, but I also watched them trying, wanting to impress their audience. These young men from the Las Vegas desert remain borderline freakish, completely engaged in their music, and entirely appreciative to their fans. The fame, as far as I could tell, has not even begun to go to their heads.

“For Reasons Unknown” followed “Somebody Told Me”, and after this the band stopped for the first time. Brandon Flowers, standing at his “k” keyboard, leaned forward into the microphone, and seductively asks “would you like to come with me”. The ever resounding first four notes of “Bones” erupted from the stage and I immediately find myself half dancing, half flailing with my new friends from South Carolina. They follow The Killers to every show they can, driving 14 hours to make it to this one. Killers fans mean business. “Bones” seemed to end far too quickly and “Joy Ride” began. Although I only occasionally listen to this song all the way through on my own, I found myself swaying, almost cha-cha-ing to the horns and spanish sounding percussion. They followed this with a more downbeat section of the show consisting of “Bling”, “Shadowplay”, and “Smile Like You Mean It”.

Brandon quiets the band and begins telling us a story of a band from the west, that boarded a plane that previous noon and flew to Chicago to play a concert (all of this was obviously much more eloquently explained). As his story came to a close, the keyboard intro from “Spaceman” slipped out and the energy in the audience surged. The strobes flashed and the fog machines released an enormous cloud of smoke as Brandon released the dominating oh’s that underscore the song. Although the Killer’s catalogue is not exceptionally large, there are so many gems like this that not only compensate, but make me realize how happy I am that they don’t overproduce and lose their exceptional style.

“Spaceman” lead into “A Dustalnd Fairytale” and after it ended, the familiar sounds of “Read My Mind” gushed from the speakers. “Mr. Brightside” again upped the anti, and they finished the set up with the powerful “All These Things That I’ve Done”. The exhilaration of the audience got the adrenaline pumping, and the song was suddenly over. They finished the song and swiftly left the stage. The crowd began chanting: “I’ve got soul but I’m not a soldier” again and again. Several minutes later, Brandon came back out, followed by the rest of the band and they started playing “Jenny was a Friend of Mine”. Personally I was let down. Considering that Lou Reed had played only two hours earlier, I truly anticipated a special appearance and what a better time than for the encore? Nevertheless, it was the perfect intro into the perfect closer: “When You Were Young”. The song exploded, the crowd exploded, fire exploded from the back floor of the stage, followed by fireworks exploding from the back ceiling, and, from what I could tell, Brandon Flowers, himself, almost exploded. Smiling and singing, in that haunting voice, he hopped up onto one of the front lights, and despite the unique dress code of the band, and despite the incomprehensible nature of his lyrics, Brandon Flowers entertained the crowd. It was the perfect ending to a great show and who knows, maybe I’ll see you at their next show in town: I know I’ll be there.

Setlist:
1.    Human
2.    This Is Your Life
3.    Somebody Told Me
4.    For Reasons Unknown
5.    Bones
6.    Joy Ride
7.    Bling (Confession of a King)
8.    Shadowplay (Joy Division cover)
9.    Smile Like You Mean It
10.    Spaceman
11.    A Dustland Fairytale
12.    Read My Mind
13.    Mr. Brightside
14.    Encore:
15.    All These Things That I’ve Done
16.    Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine
17.    When You Were Young