Murder by Numbers: With Only Half of the Real Killers on Hand, Enjoyable United Center Show Lacks for Fresh Ammunition -- Chicago Concert Review

Concert Review

The Killers
w/ opening act Alex Cameron
United Center, Chicago
January 16, 2018
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Those hoping to note the continued viability of contemporary rock 'n roll connecting with mass audiences could find much to be heartened by at The Killers' concert Tuesday night at Chicago's United Center.

Though also, perhaps, not so much.

Although the Las Vegas band has enjoyed considerable international popularity since their 2004 debut album, Hot Fuss, I found it impressive that 14 years on, they sold out the UC, with a rather inflated aftermarket to boot.

Whereas their contemporaries, Arcade Fire, might've had their undersold UC show in late October hampered by playing Lollapalooza Chicago last August, doing so seemingly had the opposite effect for the Killers.

Not only did they fill the Windy City's largest arena--albeit without utilizing seats behind the stage--but at least around my 300-level seats, those in the 17-to-29 demographic seemed to comprise the largest contingent. (i.e. atypically young for an arena rock show by a veteran band whose best music came out over a decade ago)

And while I'll point out some qualms that--for me--made this stop on the Killers' Wonderful Wonderful tour not quite so, there were certainly many moments of communal, multi-generational joy.

"Somebody Told Me"--which lead singer Brandon Flowers halted midway through due to a fight he noticed down front, but resumed without missing a beat--"Spaceman," "Smile Like You Mean It," "Human," "This River is Wild," "All These Things That I've Done" and particularly the closing couplet of "When You Were Young" and "Mr. Brightside" all roared rather delectably.

So, more than not, it was a fun night alongside my frequent concert pal, Paolo, enjoying a band that just Tuesday afternoon, I ranked second among the Best Rock Bands of the 21st Century.

Lest one think the critiques I'm about to espouse come from a non-Killers fan or an out-of-touch old fogie--though I may well be the latter--Tuesday's concert does not make me rethink the above ranking.

This was my 4th Killers show--all in Chicago on 4 straight tours--and I truly loved the last 3.

My rave, @@@@@ (out of 5) review of the band's 2012 gig at the UIC Pavilion was particularly effusive, in the vein of what I was hoping to convey about this show.

I wasn't a big fan of the Killers' 2012 album, Battle Born, but felt the concert then enhanced the material. So despite being lukewarm about 2017's Wonderful Wonderful, I was still expecting a phenomenal show.

Frontman Flowers has always been the dominant (and nearly sole) focal point onstage, so that two of the four permanent Killers--guitarist Dave Keuning and bassist Mark Stoermer--have opted to sit out this tour, replaced by Ted Sablay and Jake Blanton, respectively, also wouldn't seem to be of obvious consequence.

Drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. remains a powerhouse, and with two additional musicians and a trio of backing vocalists abetting the core quartet, nothing sounded obviously deficient save for an occasionally imperfect mix.

But, while respecting that the Killers tried for a somewhat different, less dance rock tonality on Wonderful Wonderful, the title song that opened the show and the album's first single, "The Man," which came next, really didn't do much for me.

In the third spot, "Somebody Told Me," from Hot Fuss, first got the fans' fannies out of their seats--at least atop the arena--and across the 22 songs played (see the setlist here) the best ones clearly came from that debut album, its excellent follow-up, Sam's Town, and the subsequent & solid Day & Age.

Of course, most concerts by artists of any age are dominated by cherished hits of the past, not "new stuff."

But with Flowers just 36, the Killers are a band that should be surging forward, not just running through past glories.

So one starts to think, why did it take them 5 years to put out an album as "meh" as Wonderful Wonderful?

Why did two of the members--still officially part of the band, not reported to be ill or injured--decide not to tour as the Killers are playing the largest non-festival U.S. venues of their career?

Why don't any of their songs seem to mean anything?

And could it be that when Flowers sang the words, "Don't give up on me / 'Cause I'm just in a rut" on the new album's "Rut," he was being all too truthful about his band and its music?

Suddenly, one might not be so heartened about The Killers, and this sold-out show, attesting to the future of rock 'n roll.

Or at least an extremely bright one.

Perhaps it was just a less than killer night. Not only did the whole show seem too "by the book," Chicago was deprived of Sam's Town's fine "Bling (Confessions of a King)" and some choice cover songs the band has played on other recent tour stops--Dire Straits' "Romeo & Juliet," the Cars' "Just What I Needed"--and instead we had less-than-thrilling opening act Alex Cameron join the Killers for his own "Runnin' Outta Luck."

And following a seemingly main-set closing romp through "All the Things That I've Done"--the Killers' building-shaking staple in the vein of U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name"--came a slow new song ("Have All the Songs Been Written?") followed by another ("The Calling") to open the encore.

SMH, as the young ones seem to, um, text. (if indeed they still do)

Yet I don't mean to sound completely negative.

I still sufficiently enjoyed the show to make it worth attending at a bit of a mark-up, Flowers remains a highly-entertaining stage presence blessed with a fine voice and the Killers' great songs pretty much sounded great.

@@@@ out of @@@@@ doesn't mean it was a bad show. Far more so the contrary.

And though it didn't stir me like the band's past shows--and makes me think they need to come up some truly killer new material--I would still call the Killers the second best "newish" band in the world.

But the distance behind #1 Arcade Fire has considerably widened.

Though that band's fifth album, also released in 2017--Everything Now--neither was its high water mark in terms of recorded material, Arcade Fire sold it quite well in a transcendent, thoroughly imaginative concert I dubbed the Best of 2017, over much stellar competition.

Though not as well-attended as this one--for reasons unknown--that brilliant show rekindled my faith in the power of rock music, as a living, breathing idiom, performed by at least a few acts with members born after the Carter administration.

I hoped the Killers would further amplify that belief.

In some ways they did, with a strong back catalog, but let's just say they didn't quite slay me.

Thrilling Killers Provide Hope for Rock's Survival -- Chicago Concert Review

Concert Review

The Killers
with opening act Tegan and Sara
UIC Pavilion, Chicago
December 21, 2012
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The world didn't come to an end on 12/21/12, but if the apocalypse had come, I hope the Mayans would've timed it to allow me to see Friday night's Killers concert in full.

It wouldn't have been a bad way to go.

Ironically, after taking the stage to a recording of R.E.M.'s "It's the End of the World (and I Feel Fine)" and launching into "Mr. Brightside"--see my video clip at bottom--the Killers wound up having their superb show cut a song short, not by the Mayans, but supposedly by an 11:00pm curfew.

But by then, the Las Vegas-bred foursome, accompanied by two touring musicians, impressively demonstrated why they stand as one of the best bands in the world right now. And, along with Arcade Fire, Coldplay and the Black Keys, one of the few arena-filling rock acts arising in this century that might fill out a benefit concert roster in 2030, such as The Who, Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, Bon Jovi, Roger Waters and Paul McCartney just did with the 12-12-12 show for Hurricane Sandy Relief.

Beyond simply being popular enough to fill a 10,000-20,000-seat venue, there is an art to being a great "arena rock" band, notably the ability to make an arena rock, and the fans within it, truly shake.

Although The Killers' first two albums--Hot Fuss and Sam's Town--were both among my 10 favorite albums of the '00s, the first time I saw them, in 2007 at Sears Centre Arena, I was pleasantly surprised by how great they were, not only as a live act, but as an arena act.

After seeming a little lesser in January 2009, also at the UIC Pavilion, they once again truly dazzled me on Friday night throughout a 100-minute gig that felt just about perfect in pacing and performance. That they sounded so good to me was especially impressive given the cold--as in extremely chilly, but also rather sterile--confines of the Pavilion (I like arenas, but not particularly this one).

Like 2008's Day & Age, the Killers' 2012 album Battle Born also seems a good deal shy of their first two discs. But one of the things that makes the band an excellent live act is their ability to showcase recent material in ways that make me reassess it.

New album cuts like "The Way It Was," "Miss Atomic Bomb," "From Here On Out," "Runaways" and "The Rising Tide" mixed in well with older material and helped me reconsider the depth and quality of Battle Born.

Of course, past gems like "Mr. Brightside," "Spaceman," "Human," "Somebody Told Me," "Read My Mind," "When You Were Young" and "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" also went over great with the sold out crowd. (See the full Killers Chicago setlist on Setlist.fm)

And though "Battle Born" was supposed to be the show closer--per past setlists and the notes on Setlist.fm--but was nixed due to curfew, I doubt many fans rued ending the night with "All These Things That I've Done," which, in sound, scope and stature, has become The Killers' "Where The Streets Have No Name."

All in all, it was just a terrific show by a terrific band, featuring a smart, well-paced setlist, an impressive light and video show and just the right amount of stage patter from Brandon Flowers, who has become a pretty great frontman.

Adding to the evening's enjoyment was an excellent opening set by Tegan and Sara, a duo comprised of identical twin sisters.

Though I had heard of them, I wasn't familiar with their music, but I genuinely enjoyed everything I heard over a 9-song set. (Tegan & Sara Chicago setlist)

Even though I perceived myself to be older than some of the fathers bringing their daughters to this show, I nonetheless want to have reasons to be attending rock concerts 10 years from now.

So it was encouraging to see the Killers (and Tegan and Sara), do what they do as well as they do it. While being grateful the world didn't end, let's hope that rumors of rock's demise are forever premature, as long as bands like The Killers continue to survive.

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First, here's a clip of The Killers taking the stage to a recording of R.E.M.'s "It's The End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)" and launching into "Mr. Brightside" [partial], shot by me:



And here's a six song YouTube playlist of songs from the Killers Chicago show on December 21, with videos uploaded by vivacoldplay and coldplay0129, neither of whom I know: