Concert Dates, Concert Tour News, Artist Information

Killers play Peru

The Killers ventured down south recently, performing in Peru to a throng of wide-eyed fans that reveled in the band’s pure rock and roll energy throughout the show. That’s the image you take away from the Living in Peru article about the show, which makes it sound like one for the books.

Though the band has mostly been playing their newer songs in concert while in the U.S., they apparently relied more on their earlier hits, turning more to Hot Fuss and Sam’s Town to entertain their fans. They did have a special shout-out to their Peruvian fans: “Towards the end of the concert the lead singer of the group took a Peruvian flag and sang ‘When you were young.’ The thousands of ‘victims,’ (that’s what the band calls their fans) answered with deafening cheers and applauses. The concert lasted for about an hour and a half, and packed 35,000 people at the venue.”

It’s awesome that the band appreciates their fans so much—and vice versa. In any case, get Killers tickets at StubHub in the future.

The Killers make it on the AV Club’s best of the decade list

It was kind of a given that the Killers’ Hot Fuss was going to be on a number of end of the decade lists, but it appears lower than you might expect on the AV Club’s list, which is out today. The list is noticeably more “mainstream” than, say, Pitchfork. But Pitchfork is Pitchfork, and you’ll actually have heard of most of the bands on the AV Club’s list.

Hot Fuss comes in at number 41, and the blurb that accompanies it says the band has been struggling to recapture the kind of ubiquitous praise that they got back then—which was balanced out with ubiquitous backlash (see the Strokes entry farther down the list for more on this). From the blurb: “The Las Vegas band’s debut was structured like a Reagan-era hit machine, front-loaded with irresistible (and inescapably ubiquitous) odes to candy-colored coming-of-age hedonism like ‘Mr. Brightside’ and ‘Somebody Told Me’ that seem almost quaint in these comparatively gray and seemingly distant times. The first half of Hot Fuss is such a coke-and-caviar-fueled head-rush that it’s mostly forgivable when it falls off after ‘All These Things That I’ve Done.’”

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Star Pulse reviews Killers live album

Star Pulse has a really detailed review up of the Killers latest release, a live album and DVD of their performance at London’s Royal Prince Albert Hall. If you are a Killers fan and had any doubt about picking this up, lay it to rest. The review combs over all the intricacies of this excellent record, and it’s clear that there is plenty here for a dedicated fan to enjoy. One of the real pleasures seems to be how much Brandon Flowers has grown as an entertainer in the years since first releasing Hot Fuss. In fact, anyone who hasn’t seen the band live in a while will be very impressed.

From the review: “LFRAH gives you an up close and look at Flowers to the point that you can’t help but see him as being a modern day combination of Mick Jagger and Freddie Mercury. Flowers who has an innocent yet confident look moves with such an amazing force and sings hit after hit as if each song is about to burst right out of their chest in a magical explosion for all the world to see.”

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The Killers grow up

BeatCrave has a somewhat critical post about the Killers, turning to a recent interview they did in which they admitted to planning out their partying a little more so as not to let it affect their performances. The interview is nothing new by now, but the fact that the band still draws ire for their former immaturity is telling. Beatcrave mentions that the band just seems awkward on stage in the past: “It sounds like The Killers have grown up a little bit! They’ve stopped trying to act like bands they admire, which is such a good thing! The reason those bands were amazing was because they were unlike anybody else. I saw The Killers a few years back, and I must say they were fairly unimpressive. They sounded good, but they didn’t seem comfortable. However, I will give them the benefit of the doubt because they were still pretty new at the time.”

They certainly have grown up, and it seems like they can focus their talent a lot more now. If you want to see how they’re doing, get Killers tickets at StubHub.

Killers require fans to stand at Abu Dhabi date

There’s a sad inevitability that comes with growing to superstardom. When a band that’s been playing small clubs venues suddenly starts playing arenas, it becomes hard to go back to more intimate settings. That’s unfortunately happened to the Killers—but they’re doing their best to make sure they avoid it.

The band is going to be playing a major concert space in Abu Dhabi in the near future, and though the venue comes with seats, they’re having them all removed so that the entire gig requires the audience to stand. This has an egalitarian bent that we just can’t disagree with. Here’s some info from Digital Production Middle East: “‘There won’t be any seats located in the venue whatsoever,’ confirmed Lee Charteris, operations director for Abu Dhabi-based event promoter Flash. ‘The band wants everyone to stand up and they’re adamant about it. I think it will be great to be honest. I think it will be a different show to the likes of Coldplay. It’s in the same space but I think it will have a completely different vibe.’”

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IGN reviews Killers live album

There are plenty of Killers fans across the globe, and naturally there are a lot of them that are going to be psyched for their first live album. Considering the band is playing at the gorgeous Royal Albert Hall, giving the performance a stateliness that is sure to delight fans.

IGN has a pretty awesome review of the band’s first live record, breaking down why it works and why it doesn’t, and over all, it seems like something you really ought to rush out and get if you’re a true Killers fan. There’s not a whole lot of darts to throw, however: “There aren’t highs and lows here. The Killers: Live from the Royal Albert Hall is such a tight production that it maintains a consistent level of excellence and holds the attention of the viewer/listener all the way through. It’s literally one terrific number after another. And while the energy level varies according to the musical content of each track, you’ll be on the edge of your seat the whole time.”

Sounds like this will be the ideal stocking stuffer for any fans out there looking for gift ideas. Purchase Killers tickets in the future at StubHub.

Huffpo reviews the new Killers live album

Huffington Post was originally set up to offer news readers a leftward-leaning blog with celebrity opinions, politics and scandal. Over time, however, it has become much more of an entertainment destination—something akin to a politically-savvy TMZ. The site continues to branch out, offering music reviews now, and one of the latest records up for review is the Killers live CD/DVD of their performance at the Royal Albert Hall.

It’s not a very long review, mind you, but a fair one, and one that gives you enough information and makes some insightful points about how live CDs are now a worthy creation in and of themselves, whereas they used to simply be a money maker for bands that hardcore rock fans could ignore.

From the review: “The Killers benefit incredibly from this evolution, with Live From The Royal Albert Hall being a very satisfying audio disc and HD concert film that shows the band at work from every creative camera angle you can think of (including the mandatory “Fan’s Eye View”). On the DVD portion, director Dick Carruthers celebrates pyrotechnics and performances equally, though The Killers’ theatrics and musicianship only are enhanced by the rollercoaster visuals.”

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EW talks to Brandon Flowers about where the band is now

Is it a little narcissistic for a band to have live recordings of their earliest shows? That might suggest that the band thinks they’re a lot better than they really are, but when it comes to the Killers, it might have been a grand idea all along. In a recent interview with EW, Brandon Flowers admits that the band has had a lot of their early shows in the U.K. filmed, simply because the English are really dutiful about filming music festivals, and they happened to play a bunch of them when they were rising stars there.

But most of the interview is spent talking about how the band has evolved, including the release of their first live DVD ever. Flowers says that, despite the fact that the band has top billing status now, there is still a kind of ignorance about them and their music, and more importantly, what their live shows are like. “More and more people that I meet that come to their first Killers show have almost an overwhelming sense of ignorance, really. I don’t think they realize what’s happening with us and the impact that we’re having. There’s actually a great positive atmosphere. We’ve become a pretty good live band.”

Take his advice. Get Killers tickets at StubHub and experience them for yourself.

The Killers ponder the meaning of rock star restraint

In many situations in life—whether you’re talking about drinking or working—it’s good to know when you’re overdoing it. The Killers have given some time over to thinking about this, as they revealed in an article published by the AP a little while ago. We’ve already posted about the article, but the Telegram gave us another chance to look at it—and to highlight a part of it that seems kind of important.

The whole article basically gives us a portrait of band maturing and learning restraint. There comes a time when young men learn that they can’t go getting plastered every night and expect it not to hinder their performance on stage, and they have to decide which matters more to them. The Killers have definitely decided that it makes more sense to keep themselves under control. Of course, that doesn’t mean that Brandon Flowers isn’t going to try and push the envelope when it comes to fashion. He admits in the interview that he’s just trying to not look stupid—and some of his critics are saying he’s failing.

What do you think of Flowers’ look, readers? If you need a closer look, get Killers tickets at StubHub.

Brits love the Killers—and vice versa

The Press Association highlights a recent quote from Brandon Flowers that is instrumental in understanding the band’s recent Live at the Royal Albert Hall DVD. The live recording was in large part an offering to British fans, who seemed to latch on to and catapult the band to fame in America. This is actually a fairly typical strategy for a lot of major rock bands. Over the years, Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana and The Ramones went to the U.K. first before finding their American success. The Brits have long been a launching pad for bands. Do they simply appreciate music more?

Brandon Flowers seems to think so. “The energy is different (there). It’s not a part of our culture to celebrate music here the way they do across the Atlantic.” You could chock up that statement to simply trying to butter up fans in the U.K. ahead of the DVD’s release, but he may simply be telling the truth. There’s something about U.K. music listeners—they tend to be more aware of a wider selection of bands, and listen to more music than their American counterparts.

If you want to rival them, then get Killers tickets at StubHub next time the band is on tour.