Written by Bang Ho
Photos by @robloud
A Johnny Marr and The Killers double bill is a dream come true. Johnny and his band started the night with a great mix set. Of course that included some of The Smith’s songs not only with him reprising his original role in that band on guitar but also taking over vocal duty, some original songs with his new band, and even brought out a song from the supergroup Electronic (Bernard Sumner of New Order and Neil Tennant of Petshop Boys). Johnny stated the next song was a disco song from Manchester, and played the hit song “Getting Away With It” by Electronic. The drummer bounced between a standard drum kit and an electronic one. At one point during the set, Johnny asked the audience if they had any requests and admonished one request stating “sir, that is not one of our songs” to laughter. Johnny is a wizard on guitar and gave everyone in the crowd exactly what they wanted –a wonderful performance picking effortlessly hard licks so fast on his guitar while also singing.
What more can be said about The Killers than they are not only absolute musicians that have mastered their craft and consummate entertainers that put on a show that brings you to your feet. The band has been together for just over two decades and their polished show and music reflect that. The band set out to thrill, and they did right out of the gate with a confetti cannon going on to start the show and two other times during the hit-packed 23-song set. While the show was a treat for everyone in attendance, one die-hard fan Bryan in a homemade “Killer Drummer” shirt was acknowledged by lead singer Brandon Flowers. Flowers saw him in the crowd and stated that the band already had a Killer drummer, but relented and let him join the band on stage with drummer Ronnie Vannucci moving to bass guitar (if memory serves) for the song “For Reasons Unknown.” Flowers joked before starting the song saying, “You know all the stops? There are a lot of people here, Bryan.” Bryan had gone to Denver and tried unsuccessfully to play with the band on stage, Flowers later told him they were very tired so they declined. Luckily for Bryan, the band recognized him and let him on stage this time, and Bryan played perfectly in sync. The Killers ended a great show with Spaceman and Johnny Marr joining the band on guitar for “You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet, Baby” and of course the finale “Mr. Brightside.”
