24 February 2007 (gig)
26 February 2007
Smile like you mean it. Brandon Flowers could do with heeding his own words. It may have been end-of-tour fatigue, big night nerves or simply a detached nonchalance, but The Killers’ Saturday night slot at Wembley Arena didn’t quite bring the house down as had been hoped.
While a fair portion of this blame can probably be laid at the door of the capital’s most soulless venue, the Las Vegas-based four piece flattered to deceive. Over-zealous stewarding suppressing any hint of people enjoying themselves doesn’t help. Let’s be clear ' The Killers off-form still knock most bands into a cocked hat and the strength of their singles will still make for an enjoyable night, but the spark was missing.
A peculiarly top-heavy set saw most of the singles rattled off fairly early, with When You Were Young being given an airing second and most of the Hot Fuss sevens rattled off before the halfway point.
All These Things I’ve Done made for a stirring encore and left the crowd filtering out of the venue with a warm feeling which was definitely required given the effort involved in getting home from the awkwardly located barn.
The Killers have been and will be a great band both in the studio and in the live arena, but have disappointed on the big stage before including a peculiarly under-par set at the Reading Festival in 2005. Given the place they hold in many people’s hearts you can excuse them the odd off day, but let’s just hope it’s not symptomatic of a wider malaise.
