From Sin City to the Steel City, The Killers played their first UK show since 2019 at the O2 Academy, bringing their ‘Imploding The Mirage’ tour to Sheffield for a special warm up gig. After a run of hometown performances in Las Vegas and Mexico, the band are now in full swing to embark on their UK/EU stadium shows.
Kicking off the thunderous, two hour-long set with a confetti canon of dreams, the band opened up with ‘My Own Soul's Warning’. Just over 2000 fans filled the main room on Tuesday night, with super pints in-hand and a collective singing back of lyrics that was definitely louder than Brandon himself. It’s not everyday you see one of the best indie-rock bands (ever) at your local academy, so it felt pretty special for the crowd to soak it all in.
An electric transition into ‘When You Were Young’, Brandon’s showmanship shined as he gripped the Sheffield audience. It’s as if the pain and uncertainty of the last couple of years had culminated into this exact moment in time: normality at last. Flowers spoke intimately with fans about this past uncertainty, stating “one thing I’m certain of is that we’re together tonight, so let’s do something about it.”
The band navigated the bouncing crowd through the highlights of each era, next being 'Hot Fuss'. The atmospheric, analogue anthem ‘Jenny Was a Friend of Mine’ and the nostalgic synth rush of ‘Smile Like You Mean It’ transported fans back to 2004, reminding us all that some things do slide by so carelessly.
In attendance were those who couldn’t make the sold-out gig, rather they watched through a phone screen on face time as the Academy rocked to ‘Mr. Brightside’ and ‘Somebody Told Me’. It’s no doubt that the majority of us have a connection to one of these songs, whether you heard it first on the radio as a kid, during your uni days, at house parties, or your first club night. It was expected that the classics would get the loudest cheers of the night.
Brandon thanked the UK for taking these tracks and making them what they are today. He continued, “you guys changed our lives, we are being genuine that the UK is our spiritual home. You took these sentimental Americans in, and we won’t forget it.”
Masked in a shadowy haze of orange hues and heavy 80s-inspired sounds, the experimental ‘Fire in Bone’ was a standout from the ‘Imploding the Mirage’ set. The unique power chorus and signature backing singers gave a brilliantly Springsteen feel when performed live, offering fans a chance to sway the night away.
Following up with more classics, ‘Runaways’, ‘Read My Mind’, ‘Spaceman’, and ‘Humans’, the crowd felt more connected than ever. Arms thrown around shoulders, embraces, and pure joy, Brandon took the time to share a Helen Keller quote on optimism and struggle: “It lets us into the soul of things and teaches us that although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” This made the perfect sentiment to remember as the band closed with ‘All These Things That I've Done’, which was certain to still be replaying in everyone’s minds long after the gig had ended.
The band is sticking with South Yorkshire for just a little while longer as they kick off their UK/EU stadium tour this week in Doncaster. If Sheffield’s show proved anything, a soulful stadium worthy set can be performed in an academy, but hearing these songs outdoors, with thousands more fans, and the sunset as your companion, well what can compete with that?
– – –
– – –
Words: Sahar Ghadirian
– – –
