The Killers at Madison Square Garden

Brandon Flowers

Vocalist/keyboardist Brandon Flowers was fired by his first band, a synthpop trio known as Blush Response, in 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada. After attending an Oasis concert, Flowers felt affirmed that his calling was to be in a rock band. He responded to a classified ad by guitarist Dave Keuning, who had moved to Las Vegas from Iowa a year earlier. The two bonded and immediately began writing songs together in Keuning's apartment. After a few shifts in personnel in 2001, the Killers stabilized in 2002 with Flowers, Keuning, bassist Mark Stoermer and drummer Ronnie Vannucci, Jr. The band's name was derived from a logo on the bass drum of a fictitious band in the music video for a New Order song. Since then, the Killers sold more than 22 million records worldwide and won numerous awards. The Killers released a fifth studio album, Wonderful Wonderful, on September 22, 2017.

The Killers returned to Madison Square Garden tonight, but with a different lineup. Flowers and Vannucci were present, but while Keuning and Stoermer remain members of the band, they declined to tour. Guitarist/keyboardist Ted Sablay substituted for Keuning and bassist Jake Blanton filled in for Stoermer. Keyboardist/rhythm guitarist Robbie Connolly and lead guitarist Taylor Milne of Big Talk, Vannucci's side project, and three backing vocalists were also on stage. The musicians took the stage to the thunderous groove of "Wonderful Wonderful," all dressed in black except for Flowers' bubble-gum pink leather sports jacket. From that ostentatious moment, it appeared the Killers was all about Flowers. He stalked the stage left and right, raised his hands in outsized gestures while standing on monitors at the stage's edge, and plainly played the rock star, while the musicians supported his skyrocketing vocals. No solos or instrumental breaks were particularly spotlighted save for Vannucci's impressive drumming. Nevertheless, this was solid rock and roll, cleaned and polished for the masses, given added dynamics by video screens and confetti cannons. The Killers' concert was air-tight and rehearsed for perfection, but perhaps it would have sounded more authentic if the performance had been just a wee bit dirty and sloppy.

Visit the Killers at www.thekillersmusic.com.

Set list

1. Wonderful Wonderful
2. The Man
3. Somebody Told Me
4. Spaceman
5. The Way It Was
6. Run for Cover
7. I Can't Stay
8. Smile Like You Mean It
9. For Reasons Unknown
10. Just What I Needed (The Cars cover)
11. Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
12. Rut
13. Human
14. This River Is Wild
15. A Dustland Fairytale
16. Romeo and Juliet (Dire Straits cover)
17. Runaways
18. Read My Mind
19. All These Things That I've Done

Encore:

1. The Calling
2. When You Were Young
3. Mr. Brightside