Photo: WENN
Brandon Flowers closes his latest solo LP, The Desired Effect, in style at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire - his only UK show this tour. Tonight, the frontman mixes a cocktail of solo material with a sprinkling of day-job Killers added to the mix. Forever glam, gone is the 'guy liner' of 2006, though the sparkling lapels on his blazer remains whilst he adorns a messy mop-top.
Flowers opens with his trademark song ‘Come Out With Me’, tailored just for the show, including lines such as "Let ‘em hear you all the way from Shepherd’s Bush to Shoreditch" and, "Will you help us send off The Desired Effect?" Proper opener 'Dreams Come True' floods in, sounding like Springsteen had he gone through a glam phase in the 70s, call and responses of Mercury’s ‘DAY-OH’ towards the end of the song sets the mood to triumphant.
Following the pattern of the album, the synth-pop gem 'Can't Deny My Love' sprouts up next on sparkling form, the transition of these songs from the new LP to the live setting betters the recorded version, sounding full, punchy and tightly knit between the backing musicians. “Do you remember this one?” Brandon asks before 'Crossfire' struts in with colossal stride, booming from the speakers backing up the huge religious themes.
Flowers is chatty tonight in high spirits, jesting about covering ‘Bootylicious’ and a joke about the movie The Place Beyond The Pines which doesn’t quite translate, but remains charming. Behind The Killers material, The Desired Effect conducts the best responses from the audience, from the marriage of brass, 80s electronics and soul on ‘Lonely Town’ to the Old Western rock’n’roll of ‘Diggin’ up the Heart’.
Flowers reels out some old Killers tunes in different guises. 'Jenny Was a Friend Of Mine' is given a melancholic acoustic strum makeover, whilst ‘Mr Brightside’ is presented in its Jacques Le Cont remix outfit. 'Read My Mind' and 'Human' are covered in their original versions which initiates a communal bounce on all four levels of the Shepherd’s Bush Empire. Tonight, the frontman stands as a celebrated songwriter in his own right, with old material complementing the new rather than overshadowing it.
In respect of the Paris attacks, the stage sends out a low humming drone whilst the background lights projects the red, white and blue of the French flag between the main set and the encore. Flowers returns to dive straight into ‘Between Me and You’ before the twinkling coda of 'Still Want You' emerges most triumphant. All chipper brass, soul section and relevant lyrics in the wake of the attacks: "Climate change and debt/ I still want you/ nuclear distress/ I still want you." The parts collide into a crescendo at the climax of the sing before a drum fill takes the singalong chorus for one last outing before it ends.
After Flowers says his goodbyes, the French flag pops up again as Eagles of Death Metal's 'I Want You So Hard' trickles out of the speakers - a fitting tribute. Flowers doesn't mention the attacks directly but doesn't need to - coming from the entertainment capital of fabulous Las Vegas, that's what Flowers is first and foremost - an entertainer. These songs are designed for stadiums - powerful, joyous and upbeat. And boy does this world need that at the moment.
