The Killers @ Rod Laver Arena,Melbourne (13/11/2007)

Thu 15th Nov, 2007 in Gig Reviews

After performing at this year’s big day out and taking to the stage for a few side shows in February, The Killers were back again to complete the Sam’s Town Tour. Last time they performed at the smaller Festival Hall, with the packed crowd creating a scorching atmosphere. For the second time in a year they embraced the stage down under, but due to popular demand, they faced two shows at Rod Laver Arena this time around.

Support came from Louis XIV and the Howling Bells, but they performed to a half empty Melbourne crowd. The former failed to mention their name; luckily Brandon Flowers in The Killers set acknowledged them for the support on the tour. Some of their songs seemed more of a musical experiment with long intros before any lyric kicked in. Jason Hill and Brian Karaig shared vocal tasks, each with their own individual style and tone. Brian was impressive showing his versatility on piano, guitar, bass guitar and his vocal stints. The visual presence was somewhat a resemblance to the Kelly gang.

Next up was the Howling Bells. They received little, if any, response from the Melbourne crowd. It’s not a good sign when the biggest applause comes when you announce it is your last song. Front woman Juanita Stein swayed behind her guitar which represented the groove their music created. It was easy listening but didn’t really lift, or go anywhere.

The atmosphere in the arena built as the punters awaited the arrival of the boys from Los Vegas. Appropriately, The Killers kicked off the show with the newest album and tour title track, – œSam’s Town’, which followed onto the welcoming – œEnterlude’ and the smashing single – œWhen You Were Young’.

Brandon had witnessed Roger Federer win the Australian open under the same roof earlier this year but warned that this was to be no tennis match. “This is The Killers show.”

There was little if any change in the set or play list from the Festival Hall show, except the added gold confetti sprayed onto the crowd. At times, the break between each song seemed a little long and there was minimal interaction between the band and crowd to fill the void.

They played a considerable amount of the newer tracks, with – œRead My Mind’ and – œBones’ two of the favourites. But the classics from Hot Fuss were well received and the intro to – œMr Brightside’ animated the crowd. And who could forget the other singles from that album that brought such success for the band – - œSomebody Told Me’ and – œSmile Like You Mean It’.

Two-thirds of the way through the concert and the band was slightly lacking in performance that such great songs craved. At times it felt as though they were a painting; beautiful but not alive. The band members remained relatively still throughout, with Brandon attempting to convey the story of the lyrics through his movements.

But the power of the songs was shown through the crowd. To the back of the floor a few individuals absolutely went for it. They seemed lost in their own land of The Killers, acting out the emotions and jumping around like people possessed, bearing their skin and waving their shirts in the air. The music had taken them over and it was entertaining to watch.

But the show went up a gear towards the end when the realisation hit home that this tour was about to come to an end. The Louis XIV boys joined The Killers on stage for – œMy List’ and again to join the party at the shows conclusion. It took this classic bridge to lift the roof of the arena — “I got soul, but I’m not a soldier.”

As they exited the stage after – œAll These Things I Have Done’ the crowd seemed satisfied. But again the band returned with the farewell – œExtilude’ and an encore of – œWhen You Were Young’ to celebrate the end of a successful tour for a band that has taken the world by storm.