The Killers at Royal Albert Hall

As K reported, I was at the Royal Albert Hall last night for The Killers’ one-off London gig before their world tour starts. The show had been sold out for some time. If you go to a number of concerts, inevitably you have probably gone to a venue which used to be some grand theatre or movie house in its day, but now is kind of run down and the owners think, a perfect place for a rock show! The Riviera in Chicago is an example. Well, imagine walking into one of those places if it wasn’t run down and multiply that by six. That’s the Royal Albert Hall. It is incredibly beautiful. I walked in and instead of feeling like I was going to a rock show, I thought I was going to the opera. Because the show was going to be broadcast live on BBC Radio One, they did not have an opening band. Instead BBC Radio One’s DJ Zane Lowe took to the turntables playing a mix that began with a choir’s rendition of The Beatles’ All You Need is Love and featured ACDC’s Back in Black, The Strokes’ Last Night, Oasis’ Wonderwall, and Blur’s Song 2. He finished his set with Elvis Presley’s Viva Las Vegas. When he started his set, he said to the crowd, “Can you hear me?” and the guy behind me yelled back, “Yeah you fuckin twat!” Suddenly I didn’t feel like I was at the opera anymore…

When I was finding my way into the venue I passed two women with thick Eastern European (?) accents in matching leopard coats and jet black hair singing “Human” loudly. Two things popped into my head. 1. The new stuff is catching on. 2. They reminded me of the creepy twins in the hair metal band Cinderella’s videos.

The set was a tight 90 minutes filled with all of the big hits from Hot Fuss and Sam’s Town, some new material, and their cover of Joy Division’s Shadowplay. K and I texted back and forth throughout the set commenting on our favorite moments and what we thought of the new stuff. I loved “Spaceman” and “Losing Touch”. I may need to listen to others a bit more. Their new song “Joyride”, due to the bongos, made me think of Copacabana. I don’t want to think of Barry Manilow during a Killers show!

The band was tight and Brandon’s voice and showmanship were unbelievable. While his voice is perfect for their material, he also has this timeless air about him, like it wouldn’t be out of place for him to break into a Cole Porter standard. My favorite moments are too many to list, so I’ll just post the setlist that K so kindly compiled. --J

Human
For Reasons Unknown
Smile Like You Mean It
Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine
Somebody Told Me
Sweet Talk
Losing Touch
Spaceman
Sam's Town
Read My Mind
Joyride
Bones
Shadowplay
Mr Brightside

Neon Tiger
All These Things That I've Done
When You Were Young