CONCERT REVIEW: THE KILLERS W/ JOHNNY MARR AT ROGERS ARENA - AUGUST 19TH, 2022
Few musicians today have had the continuing success and appeal of The Killers. Since their 2004 debut album Hot Fuss, they’ve remained one of the biggest rock bands on the planet. This was a special tour, marking primary guitarist Dave Keuning’s return to the group after a four-year hiatus.
Opening the show was Johnny Marr along with his full band. While best known as the guitarist for The Smiths, he has a decades-long solo career. In addition, he’s toured and recorded with several other bands including Modest Mouse, The Cribs, and Electronic with Bernard Sumner of New Order. Johnny continues to carry himself with a smooth, cool, chill vibe on stage – now over four decades since he began performing. He was adorned by a backdrop silhouette of a Buddha playing guitar, which just seems to work for the guy.
During his half-hour set, the energy was up the entire time. Nothing could have dampened the enthusiasm – even some minor tech/sound issues. (“I’d like a hair fix as well,” Johnny joked after the dead mic was replaced.) His banter and attitude suggested he was truly happy to be performing for Vancouver and on stage. Johnny circled through nine songs. In addition to some solo work, he covered Depeche Mode’s “I Feel You” and his own band Electronic’s “Getting Away With It.”
Of course, the most recognizable tracks were The Smiths hits. He did “Panic” near the beginning which led to an arena of people, along with Johnny, chanting “Hang the DJ, hang the DJ, hang the DJ!” for a good two minutes. So much fun. The middle featured “This Charming Man,” an upbeat and sarcastic tune that had Johnny on vocals sounding, to be frank, much better than his former singer Morrissey ever did. Last but certainly not least was closing with “How Soon Is Now?” – a melancholy and long new wave track that features some of my favourite guitar work of The Smiths. Although an older artist may not have been the choice everyone was expecting as the supporting act, Marr was fantastic support and then some.
Finally came the main event. From the minute they took the stage it was clear the entire band – including slick frontman Brandon Flowers – haven’t lost any charisma or goodwill in the last few years. The energy was intense the entire night as the group delivered almost nothing but loud, proud, upbeat anthems spanning their entire career.
The Killers are a band whose image has been influenced by almost every genre of band that has come before them. The indie rock sounds of the 2000s. The poetic, reflective imagery of Bruce Springsteen and country artists. The new wave and glam progression of the 80s. It’s kind of a cosmic gumbo. While never depressing or too slow, their sound ranges from arena rock to mellow, soulful country. Their setlist included songs from all of their albums, always making a smooth transition and never keeping the mood too low for long.
Brandon made lots of direct and indirect interaction with the audience from the beginning to the end. He joked about being back in the arena. (“This is a super spreader event… We are spreading peace, love, and rock and roll!”) He held the hands of a lucky few sitting on the side stage. He spoke candidly of the challenging decisions the group made to release two albums in the last two years, during a time when most artists didn’t. In their most cool move, during the encore, the band brought a fan called Pepo on stage to play drums for the entirety of “For Reasons Unknown.”
Although the visuals were not as intense or powerful as many concerts I’ve attended previously, they seemed to be just right in complementing without overshadowing the music. There were plenty of lasers and colour hue changes throughout. More than once, streamers and confetti were released over the entire pit: it really was one giant party in there. There were still some cool, specific images, like dancers in a box during “Human.” (“Are we human or are we dancer?”) Astrological starscapes during “Spaceman.” Desert passages and the “Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas” sign, a few times. Still, much of the backdrop was simply close-ups of the band members. But they had enough energy, stage presence, and moves that it never felt wrong. In fact, it only served to heighten the larger than life presence of a band that just radiates showmanship.
One unexpected but very cool part of the set was Johnny Marr coming out to join the band for a few songs. “When you’re growing up as a young kid in a small town, like 4000 people, and everything seems black and white… you discover a band called The Smiths… and everything seems to be a little more in colour,” Brandon shared with the crowd. It was clearly genuinely exciting for Flowers to be playing alongside his childhood influence. They covered two Smiths songs, “Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before” and “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out.” Both are somewhat more mellow and in a higher vocal range than Brandon tends to sing in: nevertheless, the combination worked. If The Smiths ever want to reunite, I’d be happy to see Brandon do guest vocals over the original guy.
No doubt The Killers are a crowd pleaser, and that’s why they sold out Rogers Arena to 18,000 people. One forgets how many of their songs are beloved anthems until you’re at the live show. It felt like every other track I was saying “Oh yeah, this one!” There was the chanting along to the chorus of “Somebody Told Me” (“that you had a boyfriend, who looked like a girlfriend…”) and the heartbreaking cries of “Read My Mind.” (“Before you jump, tell me what you’ll find…”) It was pure magic with the deep rumblings of “I got soul but I’m not a soldier” repeated a couple dozen times for “All These Things That I’ve Done.” And of course, there was the very last song of the encore that had us all singing along to every single line. Anyone who’s been in a bar or party over the last 15 years has witnessed a crowd shout along in real time, but it really doesn’t compare to the real thing live. If I never do anything else in this life, I’m glad I got to experience the live rendition of “Mr. Brightside.”
Perhaps concerts have an extra special energy to them after a long period of unfeasibility. Perhaps The Killers really are just one of the most fun and engaging live bands around after all this time. Probably both. Whatever it is, I came out of the arena pumped and smiling. It was a feeling I haven’t had in a long time and I’m so happy the group delivered.
