Concert Review: The Killers

The Killers
Sears Centre - Hoffman Estates, IL
May 10, 2007
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OK, so the Killers aren't British and they're not exactly "hidden," as they're on a tour of large theaters/small arenas that brought them to a nearly full Sears Centre in Chicago's Northwest suburbs. But the show was good enough to serve as an illustration -- perhaps well-heeded by many of the personality-challenged Brit-bands cited on HiddenInTheIsles.com -- that there is a difference between playing a concert and truly giving a performance. Though not quite U2 or Springsteen, the Killers put on a highly enjoyable show featuring the kinetic energy of lead singer Brandon Flowers, an impressive lighting display and loads of good songs from both of their two albums (their latest, Sam's Town, being substantially better than I originally thought). And with only 2 albums to draw upon, the Killers made 100 minutes go by fast, unlike the Kaiser Chiefs, Arctic Monkeys and Razorlight, who made 60-70 minutes go by somewhat slowly, despite also touring behind sophomore albums.

The show could've been a @@@@@ performance, but lost momentum after Flowers left the stage briefly, leaving the band confused and causing the drummer to believe he should speak to the audience. Rarely a good idea.