Review by Jenna Hughes
“I don’t know what to call you guys,” Brandon Flowers addressed the crowd with a big grin. “Alpharetta? Atlanta?”
The latter brought on wild cheering from the audience at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre on Aug. 15 as fans eagerly waited to hear their favorite songs by The Killers. The band, natives of Las Vegas, haven’t played a show in Atlanta since 2009 and it was clear that their fans missed them.
The Killers took the crowd by surprise, leading off with “Mr. Brightside” while the house lights stayed on. Flowers’ energy was infectious, and it seemed like nearly everyone was dancing and absolutely no one was sitting down. After the performance, the lights finally went down and the applause was deafening.
The set continued with a great mix of the band’s material, from “Spaceman” from the 2006 album Day & Age to “Smile Like You Mean It” from 2004’s Hot Fuss. “The Way It Was,” a track from the latest album, 2012’s Battle Born, was very well received by the audience. The band was creative in their use of lighting and effects, with hypnotic blue lasers during “Shadowplay” that kept the band in the shadows while the crowd was bathed in light, to pyrotechnics during “Miss Atomic Bomb” that exploded when the beat dropped.
The crowd went wild for the hits “Somebody Told Me” and “All These Things That I’ve Done,” after which an explosion of confetti drenched the audience and the band left the stage. They returned with opening act The Virgins to perform a cover of the Neil Young song “Albuquerque,” “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine” and “Battle Born.”
Flowers then introduced each member of the band and jumped down into the pit to high five fans and shake their hands. But the fans just weren’t ready to go home yet. When Flowers returned to the stage he flashed that big grin again and said, “You want more? What more could we possibly have to offer you?”
The band then launched into the mega-hit “When You Were Young” from 2007’s Sam’s Town. It was the perfect ending to a great night of music from a band that has only gotten better with time.
Set List:
“Mr. Brightside,” “Spaceman,” “The Way It Was,” “Smile Like You Mean It,” “Human (Piano Interlude),” “Bling (Confession of a King),” “Shadowplay (Joy Division cover),” “Miss Atomic Bomb,” “Human,” “Somebody Told Me,” “Be Still,” “For Reasons Unknown,” “From Here On Out,” “A Dustland Fairytale,” “Read My Mind,” “Runaways,” “All These Things That I’ve Done”
Encore:
“Albuquerque (Neil Young cover performed with The Virgins.),” “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine,” “Battle Born,” ‘When You Were Young”
