Gig Review: The Killers @ Wembley Stadium

The Killers- Wembley Stadium, 22/6

What a night. This was the third time I’ve seen The Killers and they didn’t disappoint. They have a reputation for being brilliant live and this was no exception. They are a band that was born to play stadiums, and in the biggest stand-alone concert of their career so far, they took to it like a duck to water. Now I may be a bit biased because they’re my favourite band, but what can’t be denied is that the sell-out crowd was treated to a really special evening.

Even the support acts were fantastic. First up were Manchester veterans James. Having seen them once before, when they supported The Killers previously actually, I had a pretty good idea what to expect. With over 20 years’ experience they know how to put on a good show.  Even though they only had time for 7 songs (would have been 8, but they overran), they certainly made a good impression on the crowd. With Tim Booth’s famous dancing, the band has a real energy and stage presence that comes from a career that has spanned over two decades. Finishing their set with fan favourites ‘Sit Down’ and ‘Laid’ they really got the crowd going for the rest of the night.

Next up were New Jersey rockers Gaslight Anthem. They played a mixed, ten song set that consisted mostly of tracks from their latest album. Personally I would have preferred a few more well-known older tracks instead, but you can’t have everything. Either way they were still a very good live act and they seemed to enjoy their slot at Wembley. Even though they appeared to have a few sound issues, they still put on a good show. One thing I did notice is they probably weren’t as appreciated as much as a support act compared to their own headline shows. I know there were quite a few Gaslight fans in the crowd, but I can only talk about the people that were around me. Still, by the time they finished their set with ‘The Backseat’, they had won the crowd over and were ready to hand over to them over to the headline act.


The Killers arrived on stage just before 9pm and proceeded to treat the crowd to a brilliant two hour set. They kicked things off with Brandon Flowers playing ‘Enterlude’ solo on the piano, accompanied by a sell-out crowd (although there were gaps in the unreserved seating) before exploding into ‘When You Were Young’ and ‘Spaceman’. This got everyone jumping and singing along and pretty much set the standard for the rest of the night. ‘The Way It Was’ and ‘Smile Like You Mean It’ were followed by a nice surprise with the inclusion of ‘This River Is Wild’, one of my personal favourites off the Sam’s Town album.

A pyrotechnic accompanied version of ‘Miss Atomic Bomb’ preceded fan favourite ‘Human’ which got the crowd bouncing and dancing along once more, as did the Hot Fuss classic ‘Somebody Told Me’. One of the real surprises of the evening was a cover of ‘I Think we’re Alone Now’, the track made famous by 80s one hit wonder Tiffany. It was a good cover, although people seemed to only really know the chorus.

The phones were then out for ‘Here with Me’, before a great rendition of ‘For Reasons Unknown’. Flowers then asked the crowd if they had their dancing shoes on, before asking each of his band mates individually the same. Dave Keuning answered with a nice little guitar solo, before Ronnie Vannucci outdid him with an impressive crunching drum solo that lasted for a good two minutes or so. “I think his answer is hell yes,” commented Flowers. Vannucci is an absolute beat behind the drum kit and, in my opinion, is a much underrated drummer. This led into the track ‘From Here On Out’ from the album Battle Born. However, even though it’s one of my personal favourites from the album, the reception wasn’t as strong as it perhaps could have been. Maybe it could do with being released as a single to raise its profile as it’s a cracking song.

A Dustland Fairytale’, one of the best songs off Day and Age, always goes down well, before a new song written especially for the show was premiered. Named ‘Wembley Song’ it was one of the highlights of the night. Before they started though, Flowers commented on his hometown’s motto “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” “That’s a crock of shit,” he said, “Cos The Killers are here at Wembley tonight!” The first half of the song paid homage to previous artists who have played Wembley Stadium accompanied by pictures on the big screens (including the line “George Michael stay away from cars”, with a picture of a crashed car on the big screen).

The second half of the song charted their journey from humble beginnings to Wembley hosts since their first UK gig ten years ago. Considering it was a brand new song, it was an instant crowd favourite. Mentions of the England football team, the 1966 World Cup success and humour meant the Wembley crowd fell in love with song written for them. There was plenty of chances for the crowd to get involved as well; “…and I can still hear Freddie sing “Day Oh!!”” sang Flowers, before having it repeated back to him. If anything it showcased the band’s talents as songwriters.

‘Read My Mind’, arguably their best song’ followed which had the whole stadium clapping and singing along before they kicked into a rocking version of ‘Runaways’. They finished their set with another favourite ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’ which included the usual ‘I got soul, but I’m not a soldier’ crowd solo and confetti shower, before leaving the stage.

 They returned for an encore playing Battle Born opener ‘Flesh and Bone’ before playing  Hot Fuss classic ‘Jenny Was a Friend of Mine’, another song that got people dancing even harder than they were before. They then threatened to close their set with the title track of the ‘Battle Born’ album.  It’s an underrated epic and, in my opinion, is the best song off their last album. The studio version sounds huge, but live it is a different animal completely. They strung it out a bit so Flowers could introduce each member of the band before jumping down into the crowd. Coupled with impressive pyrotechnics and fireworks it would have been a fantastic end to the night. The band still had one song left however, and finished with a frankly fantastic rendition of their 2004 classic ‘Mr Brightside’. Of the three Killers gigs I’ve been to, this was the best version of the song I’ve heard. It was amazing and a perfect end to a truly brilliant evening. There were always going to be a few songs that didn’t make the setlist, but I would have liked to have seen ‘Bones’ and ‘This Is Your Life’ make the cut. Maybe next time….

Physically shattered and with a ruined voice, it certainly won’t be a concert I’m going to forget in a hurry. The crowd were loving it, as were the band, and they were clearly enjoying themselves. There was a great energy from both the crowd and band and this helped to create a brilliant atmosphere. If you’ve seen The Killers before, you know what you’re going to get and they didn’t disappoint. They can only get better from here and I get the feeling  this won’t be their only stadium show for long.

Someone very kindly uploaded a recording of 'Wembley Song'. Enjoy :)