The Killers, Betchadupa @Metro City, Perth (14/12/2004)

Wed 15th Dec, 2004 in Gig Reviews

With all the hype of The Killers’ debut album, Hot Fuss, expectations have been high for the Las Vegas outfit’s first tour of Australia. While so many foreign bands struggle to fill venues on the back of just one album, promoters had little to worry about, as over 2000 punters showed up to the band’s first ever Australian show – a success owed largely to breakthrough single Somebody Told Me.

With most albums these days barely challenging the hour mark, the question on everyone’s lips was how they could pull off a headline set with such a lack of recorded material.

New Zealand band Betchadupa provided the early entertainment, and as the crowd thickened, their infectious pop tunes won them healthy applause from an audience that were obviously only there for the headline act. After announcing that this was only their third visit to Perth, and that it gets better every time, the support act played their last song and left the stage, probably with a few more fans than they’d had 45 minutes earlier.

In this reviewer’s mind, there was only one song fit to open the set – album opener Jenny Was a Friend of Mine. Predictably, the band hit the stage and, without wasting any time on small talk, launched into their strongest track. With a unique lighting and visuals setup, the stage came to life, with the song sounding stronger than on record.

While Hot Fuss’ highlights are numerous, one could easily justify claims that the album resembled a train grinding to a halt. Dressed to kill, the quartet shattered those claims with a blistering rendition of On Top, bringing one of the album’s weaker tracks to life. Drummer Ronnie Vannucci’s facial expressions made any otherwise dull moment amusing, and his tendency to hit the skins while standing often stole the spotlight from his Killers counterparts.

As charismatic frontman Brandon Flowers led the band into new single Mr Brightside, followed by If the Answer is No, Can I Change Your Mind? he demonstrated not only his ability to have the crowd respond to his every move, but also his synthesiser skills that define the band. With the current trend of bands such as Interpol and Hot Hot Heat drawing from 1980s influences such as The Cure, New Order and Depeche Mode, the band’s groove-based synth pop seems to have emerged at just the right time. Those on the floor didn’t turn down the intensity as the Killers continued, with Smile Like You Mean it and Midnight Show, singing along with every word and with hips swaggering all around the venue.

During the gritty Andy, You’re a Star and the anthemic Glamourous Indie Rock & Roll, it became evident that the weak link was bassist Mark Stoermer. With a stage presence comparable to The Strokes’ Nikolai Fraiture, the miles of open stage space between him and the rest of the band did him no good and cut him out of the overall experience at times.

As the set pushed towards the hour mark, the band were obviously almost out of songs to play, and after airing Mr Brightside so early in the set, there was little else apart from hit single Somebody Told Me keeping the crowd there. While several people could be heard voicing their discontent - it seems the band’s biggest hit is also unpopular with many fans, a la Radiohead or Coldplay - the overall response to the song was the best all night, with much of the crowd preferring  to move their feet and hips, while the rest pogoed mindlessly at perhaps what was their only opportunity of the night.

Everybody knows the Killers have a very limited catalogue of material, but for a headline act to leave the stage after 50 minutes is, by anybody’s standards, pushing it. Having to beg a band to play for a full hour would usually evoke an angry reaction in the crowd, but somehow, the Killers manage to keep the crowd onside. Returning to the stage, Flowers addresses the crowd: “We’ve played our two hits, isn’t that all you wanna hear?” Obviously not. B-side Under the Gun gets a well-deserved airing, despite its relative obscurity to most of the crowd.

The highlight of the night though, is the singalong bridge of All These Things That I’ve Done. Sure, most of the crowd knows the album tracks very well, but during the set closer, Flowers takes a backseat to the crowd, letting them sing the line “I got soul but I’m not a soldier”. Flowers joins in of course, but he needn’t, with the voices of thousands drowning him out. He doesn’t seem to mind though, as he transports his microphone stand to the lower platform at the front of the stage. In some was it’s better that Flowers’ vocals are inaudable - he finishes the set singing with the crowd.

Leaving the stage for the night exactly an hour after playing the opening notes, one isn’t quite sure whether this gig really was only 60 minutes long, or if it was so good that it just felt that short. It doesn’t really matter this time though, cause the show definitely is a Killer, leaving every fan eagerly anticipating their return.