Gig Review - The Killers

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and The Killers
Brighton Centre, Brighton
Saturday 3rd March 2007


Sam’s Town rolls into Brighton, a juggernaut of glitter and glam. This isn’t a gig, it’s a concert; a carnival of showbiz fresh from the Las Vegas strip the band calls home.

Entering the usually uninspiring vacuum of the Brighton Centre eyes are drawn to a theatrical stage setup, complete with a dazzling logo just in case anybody wandered in oblivious to who was playing. This is unlikely – tickets were changing hands for £280 outside.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club provides support, seeming out of place in this spectacle. Launching into Spread Your Love, they combine the vitality of Kasabian with a soulful groove. There’s an affecting urgency to their music as Punk Song’s arresting bass line stirs the attention of a thousand apathetic people.

Debuting numerous new songs is astute. Few audience members seem to know any of the material so true reflections of the songs’ quality can be gaged. New single Weapon of Choice fares well, provoking foot-stomping with a chorus just desperate to be sung along to.

The band looks insouciant in black leather jackets, but matches their swagger with skill, swapping instruments regularly. The setting just doesn’t suit their sound, but they battle against the indifferent crowd admirably. Another time and place, BRMC could be breathtaking.

The Killers are in their element. Two short years since witnessing them in a modest hall, they have transformed into a stadium band, complete with Brian May and Freddy Mercury look-alikes on guitar and vocals. The crowd is covered in confetti as Brandon Flowers stands assertively stage central.

Flowers’ voice sparkles as brightly as his silver jacket, displaying the strength to roam over the wails of fans retorting every word. When You Were Young lands with an uplifting squeal of guitars, rock star posing aplenty. From here the set’s pacing grabs the attention. It is unrelenting, hit following hit in a blur of electrifying showmanship.

Read My Mind stands out, the reticent Flowers communicating with shuddering body language, possessing a nervous energy that gives the track an aura of grandeur. On Top is ablaze with jingly synths, while a haunting cover of Joy Division’s Shadowplay is delivered with a brooding sincerity.

Mr Brightside shifts the mood from jolly to jubilant, as girls literally faint at the combination of heat and that blistering riff. As the band return for an encore (the first of two) flatness seeps in momentarily. Brandon awkwardly plays bass on For Reasons Unknown, while My List gets too close to 80s rock balladry for comfort.

Nevertheless, as Flowers orchestrates All These Things I’ve Done like the leader of a cheesy cult, the band’s triumph is complete. Many bands forget that punters pay money to be entertained. The Killers put on a show that, while not life-affirming, is the most enjoyment to be had for £25 – or £280 if the touts had their way.

Greg Rose