Setlist:
1. Mr. Brightside
2. Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine
3. Smile Like You Mean It
4. Spaceman
5. Miss Atomic Bomb
6. Human
7. Somebody Told Me 8. Here With Me
9. Reasons Unknown
10. Read My Mind
11. Runaways
12. All These Things That I've Done
13. When You Were Young
Just got back from an AMAZING night at Wrex The Halls with awesome friends. Expect a full review of The Killers after I get a full night's sleep!
So for those who don't know what Wrex The Hall is, it's a music festival hosted by the local radio station 91x. This year's program featured Audio Addiction, Youngblood Hawke, Imagine Dragons, The Joy Formidable, Tegan & Sara, Passion Pit, and M83 in addition to The Killers. I personally was never into the other acts and had never heard them live until last night, but the group of friends I went with were actually more interested in those acts than The Killers themselves. In any case, I thought they were pretty decent.
If you don't take anything else from this review, take this. My friends walked into Viejas Arena not really into The Killers and they all left wanting to blast Killers songs in the car all the way home. That's how amazing this group is live.
Although the audio setup wasn't the greatest, we had pretty decent seats, so the sound was nice. Anyhow, I had seen their live DVD and had listened to their bootlegs, but much like U2 it's totally different to actually be there in the thick of it. I found myself singing at the top of my lungs to basically every song in the set. Their set was loaded with hits, which is to be expected from a festival-like setting. The only songs from the new album to be played were Miss Atomic Bomb, Here With Me, and Runaways, all of them great choices.
Their set started with Mr. Brightside, which instantly elevated the energy level of the arena to another level, even after the crowd was pretty riled up from M83's set prior. The show started with the house lights on for Brightside, which was done for photos, I assume, but the lights dropped and The Killers spared no moment to get down to business. The first 4 songs set a blisteringly intense level of energy in the arena.
Then, Miss Atomic Bomb. The crowd was still enthusiastic, but there was much less singing along during this song, which I actually liked because it really allowed Brandon's voice to shine. Human and Somebody Told Me continued the delivery of hits that the crowd loved.
In a change of pace, Brandon asked the crowd to take out their cell phones as the band kicked off Here With Me. At first I wasn't too fond of the song's cheesy "cell phone" line, but seeing it performed with nothing but cell phones illuminating the stands completely changed my mind. After thinking about it, I figured it was a natural progression of the idea of keeping pictures of loved ones in our wallets. It had the feel of an old-school song of desire, but it was surprisingly modern in it's subtle mention of pictures in cell phones. If that song isn't a hit already, it will be soon.
For Reasons Unknown. The latest recording I have of that song was from a while ago, so I had not heard the new intro they gave it. When I first heard it on the album, I didn't get it. But again, this is another song that I really started to appreciate after hearing it live.
At this point, Brandon took some time to tell us a story about how their journey from Las Vegas to San Diego, complete with their morning stop at IHOP (which I have been since craving uncontrollably), the altitudes at which they crossed the state line, and finally their landing. Brandon said that as the plane taxied in the San Diego airport, he heard somebody say "it's been too long." And so, as Brandon said "it's been too long, San Diego," the band started Read My Mind, one of my personal favorites.
Another song from the new album, Runaways was next on the list and it got a resounded response from the crowd. Finally, All These Things That I've Done and When You Were Young wrapped up the night.
I personally really like festival sets because the band knows they've only got about an hour or so to make love with the crowd, so they make sure to bring out all the hits. Yes, I would have enjoyed hearing Dustland Fairytale. Yes, I did miss Bling. But that's what the second date is for.
I think the night was made even more memorable because of the friends I was with. It was cool to see them cheering for their favorite acts (Imagine Dragons deserved way more than the 25 minutes they got) and for them to ask me which song The Killers were playing.
So now I get to put The Killers alongside U2 on my list of major acts I've seen live. Hopefully I'll have a chance to see them again while they tour.
I saw Imagine Dragons in November and they were absolutely brilliant. Glad to hear you enjoyed them too. Oh, and The Killers. Nice review, this date has been a long time coming for yourself, so it's great to see that they delivered.
I am still yet to add them to my list of acts seen live
I paid £45 for my Killers ticket and I would say that was overpriced and wasn't entirely worth it. I suppose I only got The Killers and Tegan & Sara - a band that I never even saw because it took me one song to decide they were complete and utter shit.
Glad you enjoyed it though. The other acts you got probably made it worth $60.
