Photo Credit: Todd Weaver
The Killers gave a Masterclass in showmanship as they brought the Rebel Diamonds tour to the Budweiser Stage on Tuesday, the first of two consecutive sold-out nights in Toronto. The band expertly brought a whole heap of their Las Vegas spirit to the shores of Lake Ontario. Every element of their stage show was designed to dazzle and woo.
The current tour celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Killers’ breakout debut record, Hot Fuss. The retrospective nature of the night imbued the evening with a sense of joy and gratitude without sacrificing any of the expected pizzazz. The set included a few new tunes but drew heavily from the rich back-catalogue. Early on, front-man Brandon Flowers promised that if the crowd had come to experience some Rock and Roll, they had come to the right place. He was not wrong.
Flowers brought pure energy and charisma to the stage right out of the gate with the band’s latest single, Bright Lights. Flowers is the star of the show and that is evidenced in the wardrobe of those on stage. Every other person on stage – band members and backup singers – donned black, effectively receding into the background most of the time. Meanwhile, centre stage, dressed up in a dapper wine-coloured suit, Flowers exuded style and swagger. The singer has vocal chops and a youthful appeal that is hard to resist. Stealing moves from Elvis and Sinatra, he channels tele-evangelists reaching out to his crowds with hands and voice that promise escape, if not salvation.
The journey is elevated through a giant LED screen that offers landscapes and dreamscapes, statues and dice. Eyes were kept busy with multicoloured signage and confetti canon explosions. But most importantly, the songs themselves sounded great. Musically and vocally, the Killers are still killing it.
The band’s nearly two-hour set was jam packed with hit songs. From FM radio staples, like Somebody Told Me and The Man, to more gentle songs like Read My Mind and Human, the audience was joyfully along for the ride. The Killers shake up the setlist from night to night, keeping fans on their toes. Ironically, it was a cover song that lifted the revival tent energy from elation to rapture – Erasure’s A Little Respect was the perfect song to raise the roof toward the end of a night that was already pretty on point for Killers fans. The band opted to end the night with the song that started it all, Mr. Brightside – a nice nod to their 20 years embodying the spirit of rock and roll.
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Be sure to check out Live Nation Ontario to see all of the other great acts that they will be bringing to Toronto this year.
