Words by Emily Hollitt
Photography by Chris Phelps (Supplied)
Brisbane Entertainment Centre was busy and bustling as thousands of people flooded in to see The Killers to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of their iconic album ‘Hot Fuss’. Mr Brightside currently sits as the longest running song in the UK Official Singles Chart the country’s history, claiming its spot for a over 408 weeks. To put that into perspective, that’s around 7 and a half years! This album solidified the bands fame, allowing for future records like ‘Sam’s Town’ and ‘Day & Age’ to face similar success. And boy was everyone excited to hear all the hits live!
Radio Free Alice played as the room began to fill, an exceptional group or incredible musicians with palpable stage chemistry. Their songs were catchy and upbeat, creating a fantastic vibe for the night to come. The sound and lighting was impressive, allowing for an incredible pre-show. The room filled quickly as people began finding their seats, drinks, merch and snacks in hand. Thanks to the incredible vibe the openers created the mood during the intermission was high. And it grew even higher as the curtains drew and the lights in the room dimmed.
Blue lights lit up the stage as Brandon Flowers voice could be heard repeating “The starts are blazing like rebel diamonds”. The big, white curtain surrounding the stage pulled back, revealing the band, as the recognisable opening chords to Read My Mind started. A light up pillar sat at the front of the stage with a big lit up letter K, attached to Flowers’ synth. “Slipping into my faith until I fall, he never returned that call” he sang, his vocal isolated with his 3 backing singings harmonising beautifully with him. Red and blue lasers shone over the top of the crowd, introducing Somebody Told Me. “We wrote that last song before it was acceptable to believe in aliens” joked Flowers after playing Spaceman. “Hi, I’m Brandon Flowers and I’ll be your host tonight. I believe you guys came here for a good time. Coming right up!”. Green lasers flew across the room during Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine, before rapidly moving silver lights spread across the stage and the room for the song’s bridge.
The lighting theme changed to blue and red synths and guitars opened Smile Like You Mean It. The guitar took centre stage as founding guitarist Dave Keuning stepped confidently onto the podium and played his iconic solo. Orange lights cover the stage for Shot At The Night. The screen flashed black and white images of the band and backing vocalists. This was one of Flowers’ most passionate performances of the night. “I’m gonna teach you this next one” he jokes as he sang the main vocal riff of AC/DC’s Thunderstruck. This quickly transitioned to the main vocal riff in Dying Breed. Original bassist Mark Stoermer’s part was prominent in this song, gluing the performance together. “This song’s a prayer” he announced, before Running Towards a Place began. This was one of the most moving performances of the night, referencing William Blake’s ‘Auguries of Innocence’ in the bridge. One of the backing singers donned an acoustic guitar for this song, showing more of their strengths outside of their tight harmonies and coordinated soft choreography.
Things began to take a turn during On Top as the concert came to an abrupt pause as a woman fainted in the crowd. Flowers helped direct the security to her, enabling them to remove her quickly. They quickly got back on track before Flowers announced “Brisbane, who’s got gas in the tank?”, leading into The Man. From its explosive beginning, the crowd was moving, a highlight of the night. Pink confetti canons erupted after the song’s first chorus, falling slowly over the room as the song progressed. Solo piano introduced A Dustland Fairytale, giving it a touching introduction before the track picked up in pace. They kept the mood low and emotional, playing Be Still next. Flowers visibly had tears in his eyes as the song ended, really tapping into the emotion of the song. Even with another abrupt pause due to disruption in the crowd, it didn’t impact the power of Flowers’ performance. “This is a selection of songs from Battle Born” he said, introducing Runaways, lifting the mood of the room.
Flowers jumped to the front of the stage to meet a fan with a sign that read “Rock Paper Scissors for a Setlist?” losing to her and handing her winnings over. “We should have done best out of 3!” he jokes. “Can you believe we’ve been coming to Brisbane for 20 years? December 2003 was the first time… when we came here last, we would have played this song”, he says, introducing All These Things That I Have Done. He pointed the microphone to the crowd as they repeated “I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier”. Next, they played When You Were Young, one of the bands most recognisable songs, as the energy and excitement in the room lifted by a tenfold. Flames fell from the ceiling over the stage during the bridge, creating an incredible visual effect. Caution was next in the setlist before the group covered iconic INXS track Don’t Change, paying homage to another great Australian band.
The lights fell dim as the band disappeared for the classic concert encore game of ‘peek-a-boo’. It didn’t take long before the band were back on stage as irregular shapes played on the screen and blue lasers flooded the crowd. A tom-heavy drumbeat introduced Your Side of Town. More confetti was blasted from the stage, coating the room, during boy (BIG props to the staff at the Entertainment Centre for having to deal with that later!). The instantly recognisable synth riff from Human played next, met with loud cheers from the crowd as they sang every word back. “Coming out of my cage and I’ve been doing just fine” sang Flowers as the crowd erupted in cheer; the moment everyone had been waiting for. They sang the first verse and chorus without the iconic guitar riff, leaving the song feeling empty to hype the crowd up for the real thing, before playing it through properly. The night ended with a final “I’ve got soul but I’m not a soldier” sing along before the house lights came on and the crowd began to clear.
Excited murmurs filled the air as everyone filtered out back to their cars. Although the mood may have died down as vehicles crept ever so slowly out of the carpark, it really couldn’t dampen the feeling of witnessing one of the greatest bands of the last 20 years, playing one their most influential albums to date.
Presented by Frontier Touring
THE KILLERS
AUSTRALIAN TOUR
November / December 2024
TICKETS ON SALE NOW VIA via frontiertouring.com/thekillers
*ALL SHOWS ALL AGES*
Saturday 30 November – Queensland Country Bank Stadium | Townsville, QLD
Friday 6 December – Qudos Bank Arena | Sydney, NSW
Saturday 7 December – Qudos Bank Arena | Sydney, NSW (‘HOT FUSS’ SET)
Monday 9 December – Brisbane Entertainment Centre | Brisbane, QLD
Thursday 12 December – Rod Laver Arena | Melbourne, VIC
Friday 13 December – Rod Laver Arena | Melbourne, VIC (‘HOT FUSS’ SET)
With thanks to Frontier Touring
