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"We have a saying where we come from," smiles a humbled Brandon Flowers to the shrieks of a 90,000-strong Wembley Stadium. "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas - but forget that because we're in Wembley."
They've scored No.1 albums around the world and headlined Glastonbury, but the punctuation mark of arriving at Wembley Stadium is what shows that a band has really made it. Four albums and over 10 years into their career, The Killers come to London to prove why they're worthy of treading the boards at this iconic venue.
As the 'Battle Born' logo adorns the stage, Wembley is bathed Americana - only heightened by support from The Gaslight Anthem. With a whole lot of denim and determination, they make for the perfect introduction to the open highway Springsteenisms that follow. The fist-pumping bravado of 'Handwritten', 'The 59 Sound' and 'American Slang' make the scorching American West Coast sun feel a whole lot closer.
"We hope you enjoy your stay," smiles Flowers on the ultimate gig-opener 'Enterlude', mellowly blending into a fiery rendition of 'When You Were Young' as they kick blast through a six-shooter of fan favourites. 'Spaceman', 'Smile Like You Mean It' and 'Bling (Confessions Of A King)' make for early peaks, but cuts from their latest LP Battle Born Don't connect with quite the same magic as their older numbers. This isn't helped by the somewhat damp sound quality. Plus, as excellent as their versionof the brilliant 'Shadowplay' is, a Joy Division cover was never going to go down that well with a Wembley-full of boozed up dads and casual Killers fans.
Beyond that, the rest of their 23-song strong set feels like every good Wembley gig should: historic.
Blasting through radio favourites 'Human', 'Somebody Told Me' and a cover of 'I Think We're Alone Now' for good measure, The Killers demonstrate exactly why they're a modern tour-de-force of stadium rock. The true highlight of the night is the unforgettable effort that the band go to for their performance of 'The Wembley Song' - a song penned especially for tonight in tribute to every win and loss that this stadium has seen. In a love letter to their fans and to England, they honour Muse, Queen and every band to rock the Wembley stage and take the time to 'apologise to Green Day' over their old spat, but all in all they clearly add their name to the long list of victories that Wembley has seen.
There isn't a dry eye in the house as 90,000 very happy people sway arm in arm to roar through a glorious rendition of 'All These Things That I've Done' as Killers confetti rains down from on high.
Returning for an encore, once we're past the unfortunate lull of 'Battle Born', The Killers deliver the obvious but awesome full-stop of 'Mr Brightside' to end a gig that will go down in the history of this hallowed ground. What happens in Wembley, stays in Wembley.
Watch The Killers play 'The Wembley Song' below:
The Killers played:
1. Enterlude
2. When You Were Young
3. Spaceman
4. The Way It Was
5. Smile Like You Mean It
6. This River Is Wild
7. Bling (Confession of a King)
6. Shadowplay (Joy Division cover)
8. Miss Atomic Bomb
9. Human
10. Somebody Told Me
11. I Think We're Alone Now (Tommy James & the Shondells cover)
11. Here With Me
13. For Reasons Unknown
14. From Here On Out
15. A Dustland Fairytale
16. Wembley Song (New song written for the show)
17. Read My Mind
18. Runaways
19. All These Things That I've Done
Encore:
20. Flesh and Bone
21. Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
22. Battle Born
23. Mr. Brightside
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