Written by Jordan Newton, Photographs of The Killers by Chris Phelps
The Vegas rockers returned to Sydney shores on Friday night to celebrate the 20th Anniversary release of their debut album back in 2004, Hot Fuss.
As soon as you walk towards the venue stands, you are instantly greeted with Killers merchandise stands filled with tour t-shirts parodying Australia's biggest bands logos including INXS, AC/DC and Midnight Oil. The pricing was decent compared to other artists charging over $80 for a shirt.
Supporting the Killers was Melbourne based band, Radio Free Alice. Their classic indie, post punk rock tunes including Johnny, 2010 and Paris Is Gone transported you back to when The Smiths and The Clash inspired a generation of independent thinking rebels. The crowd seemed very engaged with the band's endless energy and enthusiastic lyrics.
Radio Free Alice Photographs by Jordan Newton
The 2 Sydney shows were different with the first night being dedicated to their greatest hits album “Rebel Diamonds” and their 2nd night celebrating 20 years of Hot Fuss (focusing on their first album in its entirety). This anniversary saw the return of former members of The Killers including Jake Blanton (bass), Ronnie Vannucci Jr (drums), Ted Sablay (lead guitar), Robbie Connolly (keyboard), Taylor Milne (keyboard and guitar) along with leading frontman, The Man himself Brandon Flowers. Sporting a black sequined suit with his Elvis inspired hairstyle, you knew he was the star of the show.
The show was anight of nostalgia with the stunning neon signs of Vegas, Brandon Flowers parading on stage, confetti cannons shooting into the air while the band performed their club bangers including Somebody Told Me, Human, The Man, All The Things I've Done and of course Mr Brightside. You could hear the crowd chant “I've got soul, but I’m not a soldier” long after the song ended.
A favourite moment of mine was when Brandon talked about the bands that inspired The Killers with the use of the synthesizer including The Cure, The Cars and INXS. As they were in the city that gave birth to INXS, they performed a cover of Don’t Change. As a INXS fan, this was a real treat. Another moment is when they started playing The Man as this is my Dad's favourite song which he would blast out of his work truck.
With an almost two hour set including all the hits and some deep cut, it was a gig that will remain in everyone's minds for a long time.
The Killers Live In Australia Rebel Diamonds Setlist 6/12/24:
Read My Mind
Somebody Told Me
Spaceman
Jenny
Smile Like You Mean It
Shot At The Night
Dying Breed
Running Towards A Place
On Top
The Man
Dustland
Be Still
Runaways
All These Things That I've Done
When You Were Young
Caution
Don't Change (INXS Cover)
Encore
Your Side of Town
Boy
A Little Respect
Human
Mr Brightside
PHOTO GALLERY By Chris Phelps:
Special thanks to Frontier Touring for inviting us to review this event
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