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The Killers
Rod Laver Arena
12 December 2024
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Radio Free Alice kick things off with an engaging live performance of their captivating indie rock blended with electronic undertones. They incorporate some live saxophone which elevates their delivery.
The Killers return to Melbourne to celebrate 20 years since their iconic debut album, ‘Hot Fuss.’ Tonight is the first of 3 consecutive concerts starting off with their ‘Rebel Diamonds’ show – a greatest hits compilation including all their fan-favourite, chart-toppers from across their impressive career.
As the stage curtain draws open, we hear frontman Brandon Flowers begin with the outro lyrics of ‘Read My Mind.’ “The stars are blazing like rebel diamonds,” he sings, which is a fitting introduction to the theme of tonight’s show.
The stage resembles a Las Vegas showroom with their name in lights and Flowers commands the stage in a dazzling pinstripe suit. 3 out of 4 original members of the band also including Mark Stoermer and Ronnie Vannucci are performing tonight without lead guitarist Dave Keuning, but they’ve got a great band of touring musicians including three soulful backup singers.
“I believe you people ordered a good time. Is that right,” shouts Flowers as he addresses the audience. “That just happens to be our specialty, Melbourne.” They proceed with the opening track to their debut album ‘Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine’, followed by ‘Smile Like You Mean It.’
They include some intro elements of AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’ before diving into ‘Dying Breed’. Flowers points out a fan in the audience who he met at breakfast earlier this morning with a tremendous collage tattoo that encompasses every Killers record on his leg and so he pays him tribute by playing his favourite song called ‘My God.’
“We didn’t come here to pacify. We came here to electrify and to testify of the one eternal truth. Melbourne, we came here tonight to testify of the glory of the coming of the man,” he proclaims. He asks us to praise as they sing their anthem called ‘The Man’ as confetti cannon sets off and explode over the audience.
“We’ve been coming here for 20 years. Thank you for sticking with us and being here tonight. We love playing for you. None of us had ever left the country before we were in this band, and it’s been a wild 20 years. When we first came here, we would’ve played this next song (‘All These Things I’ve Done’) and it would’ve done alright, but we kept coming back and playing it and it grew.
Talking further about the song, Flowers notes that they drew inspiration from U2. “They had these gospel chords in ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ and we sort of just followed that template. I don’t know why I’m telling you this, but I feel good tonight,” he reveals.
It feels like a big finish, but they’ve still got so much more in the tank as they charge ahead with ‘When You Were Young’ and ‘Caution’. The Killers never fail to put on an incredible show and Flowers demonstrates his incredible showmanship with every move.
“We’ve never been shy about our admiration for bands from Australia,” says Flowers as he welcomes a very special guest to the stage (Iva Davies) to duet on his Australian classic Icehouse track ‘Electric Blue’ for a very special moment.
A four-track encore includes a new song called ‘Your Side OfTown’. Laser lights fill the arena before the final track ‘Mr Brightside’ that starts off with a different with a more electronic off-beat version before the electric guitar riffs sound in the original classic version and the crowd lets loosefor big finish. They include a snippet of ‘All These Things I’ve Done’ during the outro to drive it home.
Words by Michael Prebeg
Photos by Chris Phelps
