The Killers live @ The N.E.C

So here we have a band that have gone from strength to strength in the popularity stakes over the past few years.

Their debut album "Hot Fuss" was excellent by all standards, the follow up just didn't do it for me. It's an ok album, but it doesn't deliver the justice.

I missed The Killers when they played smaller venues, so I've had to make do with an Arena sized tour.
Did it work?
I don't think so.
I'm not a fan of The N.E.C Arena anyway, so to see a band that have reached this far, so quickly, in a shack thats always lacking in both sound quality and atmosphere was possibly a big mistake. The sad thing about it is, I'm sure they would be brillaint in smaller venues, but now they seem to have done this grown up thing and will only do Arenas and Stadiums, so I guess those days are all gone now.

I don't know who chose the support band, but they should be shot. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club supported and not only were their songs all lacking in anything remotely interesting, but they drummed up about as much atmosphere as a guy selling The Big Issue.


The stage was very elaborate. Lights everywhere, with a huge "Sam's Town" motif over the front. Four manual spotlights to follow them around (although in my opinion 2 would have done), explosions with coloured paper and at the begninning, the entire stage was masked by a sheet that dropped at the appropriate moment during the intro.




They delivered the songs we wanted and more. Half of Hot Fuss was played and most of the new album, as we'd expect, throw in a cover of Joy Division's "Shadowplay" and you get a pretty good setlist.





















Here's some of the shiny paper bits that exploded from the top of the stage.


The big songs got the best reception, with Mr Brightside, Smile Like You Mean It and All These Things That I've Done getting the loudest sing-a-longs. Brandon did his best to move around the stage, which can only be a good thing because the rest of the band are pretty plastic. There's the occasional leg kick from one of the guitarists, but the drummer just did his best to win a face pulling contest.
The sound was crap but I put that down to the venue. The songs were a little bit too much like the recorded versions for my liking, lacking in the whole 'live vibe' department. That said though, the crowd did their very best to enjoy the night, whatever the atmosphere.

I enjoyed the gig, but nowhere near as much as I wanted to. Shame really.