Photo: WENN
"There's something in the air tonight," smiles a wide-eyed Brandon Flowers - grinning from ear to ear. "We've been coming here for ten years, and you were the first ones to make us feel worth it. Damn! You gave us the confidence that we could do anything."
Indeed, while they're never ashamed to wear their native Vegas heritage on their sleeves, there's always been a very British streak that runs through all that The Killers do - from the Anglophile leanings of their early material to the simple fact that every time they return it feels like a homecoming. Tonight is no exception, but with the added tension in the air that comes with the worry that this could be the last time we see Flowers and co on these shores.
After weeks of speculation rising from the rumbling rumours of the band being exhausted, finished and Brandon Flowers turning towards his solo career, the future of The Killers has never been more uncertain. But within seconds of the band stepping on stage, all fears dissipate almost immediately.
Opening with new track 'Shot At The Night' before the audience exploded in adulation for the classics 'Somebody Told Me' and 'Smile Like You Mean It', the band delighted with an expertly crafted flow of indie pop classics. As Flowers dominates the Apollo with a magnetic stage presence, jokingly squaring up to bassist Mark Stoermer, showing fraternal love for an intimate serenade with guitarist Dave Keuning and inviting the crowd to scream with delight for an extended drum solo from man-machine Ronnie Vannucci - the band seem very much together.
Those who dismiss The Killers as all pomp and no substance are ignoring the fact that they're the lesser of many evils. They're the last stadium indie pop band with enough bravado and ideas to pull crowds away from other chart filth. Highlights of the evening include their glammed up cover of 'Shadowplay' by Joy Division, a thunderous rock-out rendition of 'For Reasons Unknown' and a more stripped-back semi-acoustic version of underrated gem of 'Read My Mind'. But in truth, you couldn't ask for much more from what could well be the best singles band in modern rock. Their greatest hits is simply cementing that.
"We can't come all the way across the Atlantic Ocean and not play 'Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine'," smiles Flowers before the glorious encore of the opening Hot Fuss track, the Springsteen hedonism of 'When You Were Young' and the dancefloor explosion of 'Mr Brightside'. But fear not, you will see the boys cross the pond again. They may distract themselves with other projects for a few years before they come back refreshed, but as the they leave the stage arm in arm, what you're looking at is a band in their prime with much more to prove. They'll be coming to England for decades to come, and they're always more than welcome.
The Killers played:
1. Shot At The Night
2. Somebody Told Me
3. Spaceman
4. The Way It Was
5. Smile Like You Mean It
6. Shadowplay
7. Human
8. For Reasons Unknown
9. From Here On Out
10. A Dustland Fairytale
11. Read My Mind
12. Runaways
13. All These Things That I've Done
Encore:
14. Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
15. When You Were Young
16. Mr Brightside
Direct Hits is released on Monday 11 November.
Below: 15 stunning photos of The Killers live at Hammersmith Apollo
