Near the end of the Killers sold-out concert, Brandon Flowers told the ecstatic crowd at the House of Blues, "You've all made us feel at home, which is how we should feel." Maybe so, but as local boys made good, the Killers haven't exactly been civic boosters. At best, in interviews, the group has enjoyed the notoriety of its Vegas pedigree even while expressing ambivalence about the local music scene, and for some reason, Andre Agassi. In fact, on its official website, the band's bio makes them sound like God's greatest gift to our little town, or as they describe it, our "outpost":
"When you survey previous exports from the city of Las Vegas: an assortment of suspect hair metal bands; one-hit wonder Toni Basil; err ... Andre Agassi ... It was only ever a matter of time that a group would emerge from Sin City to wipe the slate ceremoniously clean, giving the inhabitants of that Nevadan outpost some fresh hope and an escape from their culturally underperforming past."
Gosh, thanks guys! And not just for cleaning the slate, but for actually taking the extra time to ceremoniously clean it.
No surprise then that hometown shows are so rare that this was their first Vegas appearance since their debut CD, Hot Fuss, was released back in June. During that time, the Killers have gone from zeros to heroes, and if as Flowers recently complained to the Review-Journal, Vegas audiences in the past haven't appreciated them enough, that has now clearly changed. Set opener "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" became an enthusiastic crowd sing-along, as did every other song.
The Killers offer little in the way of a stage show. Flowers frequently stood still behind his keyboard, and even when roaming the stage, seemed more aimless than driven. Bass player Mark Stoermer looked like he kept his feet more or less planted to the same spot for the entire show. However, though hardly dynamos on stage, the Killers' music is more complex than the breezy hooks suggest and the band managed to unerringly reproduce the studio versions. That meant few surprises, but who would want a jam, or heaven forbid, a keyboard solo to destroy the catchy pop charms of "Mr. Brightside," "Somebody Told Me," or "Smile Like You Mean It."
Though drawing comparisons to '80s bands like A Flock of Seagulls and Duran Duran, it became clear watching them that the major reason this music also is compared to the Strokes is the powerful, stand-out drumming (yes, real drums, not synths) of Ronnie Vannucci. Not that anything about their sound is unprecedented. Like Clem Burke's over-the-top playing in Blondie, Vannucci is the secret weapon that gives an appealing rock edge to otherwise user-friendly pop. And no doubt about it, the Killers make music designed to appeal to as broad an audience as possible, from aggrieved indie rockers to shoe-gazers yearning for Morrissey, college rock geeks, the FOA (Fans of Avril), and even aging members of the first MTV generation. In short, the Killers are trying to please everyone: What could be more Vegas than that? Welcome home, guys.