Nearly a decade after first cementing their place in the rock landscape, The Killers have not only found their voice, they have carved out a place all their own. Their sound is original, their lead singer is original and, as Wednesday night’s ACC show proved, their live performances are certainly original.
That originality was on display from the outset of the Vegas-based group’s near two-hour set, as they greeted an unsuspecting crowd of 12,500 by inconspicuously emerging onstage while the arena was still brightly lit. Whether it was deliberate or not, the show-opening selection of “Mr. Brightside” proved fitting.
From there, it was primarily up to frontman Brandon Flowers to provide a personality to the band. He was alternately funny, self-effacing and wacky, all the while exhibiting an exuberant energy that kept him in constant motion across the stage. The band’s quirk was on full display during a tongue-in-cheek cover of ’80s pop ballad “I Think We’re Alone Now,” which Flowers claimed to be “stealing back” from former pop princess Tiffany after she had borrowed the song from Tommy James and The Shondells.
“I Think We’re Alone Now” was hardly the Killers’ most personal cover of the night. That would belong to their take on Bruce Cockburn’s “Lovers in a Dangerous Time,” a sign of respect for a true Canadian classic. The Killers have a tendency to fete the cities and countries they perform in; previously, they had served up a Johnny Cash tribute in Nashville and a cover of Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” in, well, you guessed it.
The energetic performance at the ACC was particularly impressive given that the venue was — let’s face it — a bit of a comedown for the band, who spent their past two dates rocking the Grand Ole Opry and Madison Square Garden.
Still, it had to be encouraging to see tracks off the most recent Battle Born being received so enthusiastically by the Toronto crowd. Songs like “Runaways,” “Miss Atomic Bomb” and the titular “Battle Born” earned ovations that were awfully similar to the ones given to usual hits such as “Mr. Brightside,” “When You Were Young” and “Human.”
With a set that kept the crowd on its feet and at attention throughout much of the night, the band didn’t need any of the assortment of gimmickry that appeared near the end of the show, namely some excessive confetti during “All These Things That I’ve Done” and the needless dry ice that engulfed the crowd during the encore.
Not that it necessarily took away from the evening, mind you. In fact, just about everything (minus the truly unpleasant dry ice) from The Killers’ Wednesday night show contributed to a fun, highly entertaining night.