The Killers

Went and saw the Killers last night. It was a good show in that they played their songs well in the live setting. However, no improvisation whatsoever. Not to be negative, but in the end it was like listening to their albums at full volume with a bunch of teenagers jumping up and down in the room.

So, I made it back from Florida, tanner and I guess more relaxed. Photos will be posted soon!!! And oh yes, right now I'm listening to some NPR story about suicide bombers in North Africa. Good times!

For now, here is a review of the show from the Sacramento Bee.....


Review: Killers win over crowd with energy
By Chris Macias - Bee Pop Music Critic


The Killers' concert kicked off with a bang of the confetti cannon, the kind of stuff usually reserved for a second encore. And as the confetti rained down, the floorboards on the Memorial Auditorium's main floor moved up and down, in tandem with the crowd jumping along to "Sam's Town."

The Killers were on their way to conquering Sacramento on Tuesday night and leaving lots of ringing eardrums in their wake. Under the Killers' spell, synth-pop isn't for sissies. It's more like new wave banging its well-coiffed head to arena rock, like New Order under a steroids regimen.
And it's a musical blend that bridges the generation gap like few other current bands. The near-capacity crowd of about 4,000 featured a fair amount of junior high-aged kids with their folks. Because it's music that moms and dads can all agree upon - at least the ones who came of age watching John Hughes movies or had a Duran Duran poster in their room.

Many fans were relieved that the show happened at all. The Killers postponed a string of concerts, including a show slated for Monday night in Lake Tahoe, after singer Brandon Flowers was sidetracked with bronchitis.

It wouldn't have been surprising if Flowers' voice gave out again. The hesher side of the Killers' sound - that is, all of the growing Gibson guitars in the background - was turned up pretty high. So Flowers had to really belt his vocals to project over the gut busting volume, especially in "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" and "Bling (Confession of a King)." Flowers still nailed most of his singing in the 90-minute set, thanks to many water breaks and an apparently successful antibiotics regimen.

Without any proverbial frogs in his throat, and bathed in lots of blue spotlight, Flowers was a proper It Boy of alternative rock. Singing songs from the band's two albums ("Hot Fuss," "Sam's Town"), Flowers wore a small ascot over his button-down shirt, scurrying around the stage like he'd downed one too many Rockstars.

There's a mix of tragedy and ecstasy in Flowers' voice, which leads to one epic and sweeping sound. Mind you that it's not always the most original music: "Mr. Brightside," one of the Killers' biggest hits, sounds an awful lot like "Born Slippy" by Underworld, and the synthesizer melody in "On Top" might as well be a re-tooled Yaz riff.

But the Killers were big on energy and pageantry, and the show only sagged a few times. Oddly enough, those downer moments came during the encore. "My List," featuring backing vocals from members of Louis XIV, the show's opening act, was pretty much a drag. The next song, a cover of the Joy Division's "Shadowplay," might have referenced one of the Killers' biggest musical influences, but this was a one-two punch of ho-hum.

The Killers ultimately came correct, and capped the night with "All These Things That I've Done." Flowers stormed around the stage, the audience sang along, and all that was missing was a final blow of that confetti cannon.