With the lights still on, the packed crowd of Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena barely batted an eyelid when a few men wandered onstage, assuming they were stage crew fiddling with guitars. It wasn’t until “Coming out of my cage and I’ve been doing just fine,” belted out from the front man that anyone started to pay attention as the band jumped straight into one of their most famous hits. Selling out a world tour in less than an hour, when the lights finally dimmed, The Killers demonstrated a well earned reputation as modern day musical royalty.
After an average performance from support band Tegan and Sara, the acclaimed rock and roll band from Las Vegas followed by playing ‘Smile Like You Mean It’, before demonstrating several lesser known songs from their new album Battleborn. A constant flow of hits followed, playing to an incredibly energized audience.
It’s safe to say, The Killers have reached the height of their career, easily filling arenas and astounding crowds with energetic performances globally after selling over fifteen million albums. Guitarist Dave Keuning performed some phenomenal guitar solos to a stunned audience, with fantastic curly hair that would make Justin Hawkins jealous.
Despite losing the moustache and lacking the conventional ‘rocker’ appearance, frontman Brandon Flowers seemed to be in a good mood, happily talking to the crowd about the band’s American roots and their own surprise at global fame before slowing down to play ‘A Dustland Fairytale’, with only a keyboard, leading to sobs from a friend standing next to me.
At capacity, 11,000 people chanted the refrain, “I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier,” as fireworks lit up the stage and confetti covered the crowd. The encore finished with ‘Jenny Was a Friend of Mine,’ and like any good front man, Flowers saluted the crowd. After a high five, I can confirm that Mr Flowers has lovely hands and although previously I would never have considered myself a diehard Killers fan, I have definitely been converted.