By Scott Cronick
Something got into The Killers Thursday night that was unexplainable and remarkable at the same time.
The Las Vegas-based rockers have been notorious creatures of setlist habits. Past visits – including many in Atlantic City – would include 12 or 15 of their songs, mostly greatest hits, clocking in at 90 minutes.
But Thursday’s headlining show at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City broke The Killers’ predictability in a major way.
Led by an even more dynamic-than-usual frontman Brandon Flowers, whose voice still remarkably sounds like he’s 20 years old even though he’s twice that age, The Killers slayed a 21-song set spanning a little more than two hours. The longer than usual set certainly gave their loyal fans a big dose of their arsenal of hits while doling out tunes from their seven albums, including their latest “Pressure Machine” along with some new singles along and deep cuts that this critic has never had the privilege of hearing before … even after seeing them nearly a dozen times.
Casual fans got all of the hits, including the five monsters from their 2004 debut “Hot Fuss”: “Jenny was a Friend of Mine,” “Smile Like You Mean It,” “Somebody Told Me,” the finale and their biggest hit “Mr. Brightside,” and the first-set closer “All These Things That I’ve Done,” which is arguably their greatest song that led into a huge sold-out arena sing along.
The Killers played songs from every one of their seven albums spanning the band’s more than 20-year rock reign. Faves included “When You Were Young” and “Read My Mind” from 2006’s “Sam’s Town,” “Human” and “Spaceman” from 2008’s “Day & Age,” “Runaways” from 2012’s “Battle Born,” the fantastic encore “The Man” from 2017’s “Wonderful Wonderful,” “My Own Soul’s Warning” and the standout “Caution” from 2020’s “Imploding the Mirage,” and “Runaway Horses” from 2021’s “Pressure Machine,” originally recorded with Phoebe Bridges.
But true, loyal fans got so much more than they bargained for and expected, including deep cuts and rarely played offerings like the touching “A Dustland Fairytale” and “Be Still,” the uneven “Dying Breed,” which was one of the night’s slower moments, the adventurous, synth-driven “Running Towards a Place,” the underappreciated 2021 gem “The Getting By II” and “Boy,” a standalone single released last summer that predated “Pressure Machine” and was inspired by material from that album, and hearing it live definitely puts that puzzle together.
If there is one criticism of The Killers is that they are like going to see a live jukebox. Some fans love that; others who crave a little jamming and improvisation might complain. And while most of the night certainly was by the book, they did stretch out on the stunning “The Way It Was,” and even added a few bars to “Read My Mind.”
The Killers even played the two original tracks from their 2013 greatest hits album “Direct Hits” – “Shot at the Night” and the encore “Just Another Girl”- which were surprising treats as both are sometimes overlooked in their impressive catalog of rock tunes.
With one of the finest video wall presentations ever at Hard Rock Live complete with massive confetti and streamer blasts and even a cascading pyro wall toward the end of their concert, Thursday’s Killers show was the best performance from the tight-playing rockers this critic ever witnessed.
Thursday’s show also once again proved Atlantic City can be more than a weekend town that we hear casino operators complain about regularly. With this show and the recent three-night run by Billy Strings at Hard Rock that also included a Thursday performance, it validates that people will come to Atlantic City any day of the week for the right programming … even in the middle of winter.
Photo credit: Scott Cronick
