Editor’s note: The Killers would not allow photography at their shows, so the image above is of opener Josuah Ray Walker playing the Schellraiser festival in June.
The Killers of Las Vegas treated their northern Nevada neighbors in Reno to two nights of concerts at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino.
Night one was littered with danceable and singable hits from their two-decade career. Perhaps the guests of night two finally got the answer to “Are we human or are we dancer?”
The show was opened by Joshua Ray Walker and company. Walker sat in a chair midstage with a glittered guitar in his lap. He switched from lead vocals to ripping lead guitar solos. He wore a blue suit jacket adorned with green and yellow flowers and a cowboy hat.
He was lit from above. The audience couldn’t often see more than his mouth singing country rock tunes with good turns and catchy choruses, some mentioning trucks and bottles. It wouldn’t be Country without it.
“Thanks so much for watching our set,” Walker said. “We are excited to see The Killers.”
As a final number, he walked offstage, lifted his hat, and revealed a fantastic mullet.
Frank Sinatra’s “Luck Be A Lady” played as The Killers took the stage and started with finale-caliber production and energy. After an explosion of confetti and the two first tracks off their sophomore success “Sam’s Town,” they jumped directly into world-famous “Mr. Brightside.”
Their music is anthemic, catchy and a little edgy. They’re the hardest soft rock band on the market. It’s both dancy and badass. It’s a glamorous indie rock and roll. Lead singer and keyboard player Brandon Flowers is a dynamo. He throws his distinct, triumphant voice with intensity and a touch of sweetness.
“Welcome to night one of The Killers in ‘The Biggest Little City in the World,’” Flowers said. “How are your voices doing? Let’s see how they are doing tomorrow.”
Their 21-song setlist followed through on the threat of vocal strain.
The voices of Flowers and the backup singers and the entire band sounded studio-quality as they jumped around their catalog. The audio precision was echoed in the light show and camera work feeding the big screens (led by an automated camera rig that slid across center stage focusing on Flowers’ dynamics).
“Human,” off their third release “Day & Age,” was stopped abruptly by Flowers as he politely policed a fan who was seemingly crowding others.
“There’s a lot of room for everyone,” Flowers said. “Back up; it’s cool.”
During “For Reasons Unknown,” Flowers switched from catchy keyboard leads to bass.
An overzealous fan yelled for Joy Division’s “Shadowplay” almost every time it got quiet. It’s a good cover from 14 years ago, but come on, man.
“I’m feeling chatty,” Flowers said. “Maybe it’s because we’re playing a smaller room. This song…”
“Shadowplay!” the fan bleated.
“It’s not ‘Shadowplay,’” Flowers said through a laugh.
They dipped into another run of great tunes they wrote including “Runaways” and “Read My Mind.”
This was my first time seeing The Killers, but since I was a teenager, I knew the bridge of “All These Things That I’ve Done” would translate live beautifully. It was a treat to sing “I got soul but I’m not a soldier” with a close-to-full-house as the show ended as it began—with explosions of sparks, confetti and streamers.
They started their encore with Joshua Ray Walker, covering his song “Cowboy.” Their bid farewell before night two was a splattering of solos and “When You Were Young.”
