I want to try to be as objective as possible here, but you should know The Killers are one of my favourite bands.
It was over a year ago that The Killers announced a show at Auckland's Spark Arena, but less than a week ago that they announced a surprise second show at the Town Hall to take place at midnight, directly after the first.
Naturally I went to both.
I wrangled a short interview slot with frontman Brandon Flowers and drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. about half an hour before they went on stage. The spoke about being happy to be back in New Zealand and looking forward to trying out various breakfast spots in Auckland and Christchurch (particularly halloumi and scrambled eggs).
They were polite, fairly soft spoken and reserved, not necessarily what you'd expect from Las Vegas-born rockstars.
On stage however, they lit up. The Spark Arena setlist began with My Own Soul's Warning, the opening track to their 2020 album Imploding the Mirage which they're finally here touring after Covid.
"Pinch me!" Flowers shouted, unable to believe that they're back on stage down under.
For my money, Flowers is one of the best frontmen currently touring. He certainly looks more at home singing to a crowd of thousands than chatting in a sterile room backstage. For two hours he's smiling and belting out hit after hit. Songs like When You Were Young, Jenny Was a Friend of Mine and Smile Like You Mean It made up the first section of the show.
For two hours I was totally parched, waiting for a moment to grab a drink but the band was relentless. Despite being one of my favourite bands, I forgot just how many hits they have. The setlist was all killer, no filler. Pun intended.
The highlight for many (at least definitely the highlight for one fan) was when they pulled fan Taylor from Wellington on stage to drum for For Reasons Unknown. The crowd ate it up, dude absolutely killed it.
After a 19 song setlist they left the stage and surely the show is over, right? Well they actually did this thing where they came back out and played some more songs. It was crazy. Never seen anything like it.
Finishing off the first show was of course Mr. Brightside, the song that propelled the band to superstardom in 2004.
Normally this would be when I'd go to bed and try to sleep off my tinnitus, but instead I, along with around 1000 other concertgoers, made our way up to Auckland's Town Hall for round two.
The much more intimate second show fittingly kicked off with the Hot Fuss track Midnight Show before playing about an hour worth of album tracks, singles left off the Spark Arena setlist and generally fan favourite tracks.
With songs like Bling (Confessions of a King), Bones and This River is Wild, the setlist heavily favoured Sam's Town, their sophomore album and in my opinion one of the great American rock records.
This show also saw a few songs off Pressure Machine, the band's 2021 album which was conspicuously absent from the first setlist. Almost three hours into performing for the night, Flowers couldn't quite match the falsetto heard on the studio recording but was able to correct seamlessly on the fly.
The Town Hall show ended with the two must-plays in their catalogue, Mr. Brightside and When You Were Young. I'd estimate for about 90% of the crowd it was their second time hearing it live in a few hours, but no one seemed to care one bit.
I saw The Killers live for the first time in 2018 during the Wonderful Wonderful tour and it was one of the best live shows I've ever been to. With the two shows last night it might just make a pretty neat top 3.
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