Posted May 25, 200718 yr The Killers supersize their sound http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c306/CashMachineEP/killers.jpg The Killers perform on the Virgin Mobile Stage during the Virgin Festival at UBC's Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver May 21, 2007. Photograph by : The Province/Ric Ernst Alan Sculley, Freelance Published: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 When: Tonight, 7:30 Where: Rexall Place Tickets: $39.25, $45.25 and $49.25 (plus service charges) at Ticketmaster Opening act: Hot Hot Heat - - - The Killers' hugely popular first CD, Hot Fuss, really didn't give fans much of a sense that the band was from Las Vegas. In fact, the band -- who play Rexall Place on Wednesday night -- was most often compared to British acts for the new-wavish keyboards and dancy feel of its music. But if one considers Vegas a city with a neon-bright, big-as-life personality, where nothing is too glitzy, fun awaits at every turn and living large is a way of life, then the Killers may have truly gone Vegas with their new CD, Sam's Town. At least that's how Killers singer Brandon Flowers sees Sam's Town. "I think it's just a natural thing," Flowers said in a recent phone interview. "We've been going away from home so much, and we wanted to have a connection with where we're from. It is a big arena where we live. It's a beautiful place. It's in the Mohave Desert, and everything's red and grey and purple and brown, and it's wonderful. Then you've got the glitz of the city. I think we managed to take it into the dirt, up in the mountains, and then there are parts where you go back into the city." Fans seem to like what they're hearing from Sam's Town. The lead single from the CD, When We Were Young, quickly blasted to the top of Billboard magazine's "Hot Modern Rock" chart, and a second single, Read My Mind, recently cracked the top 10 on the same chart. The CD itself has topped one million copies sold, including more than 200,000 copies in Canada, according to SoundScan. The success is happening despite the fact that the Killers didn't play it entirely safe on Sam's Town. As the bigger-than-life comparison to Las Vegas suggests, everything about the Killers seems bigger and bolder on the new CD. The songs are anthem-like in sound and scope, with wall-of-sound guitars -- supplemented by strings and horns on some tracks -- and the pop hooks to match. Even Flowers' modest vocals of Hot Fuss have grown to take on a Bono-ish sense of drama. In supersizing their sound, the Killers also may reshape their image as the band that has led a retro-'80s movement that has seen a wave of groups -- from Panic! At The Disco to My Chemical Romance -- emerge with records that evoke that decade. Flowers, though, feels Sam's Town reflects a wider range of influences than Hot Fuss -- not that the group was bent on escaping any particular image that debut CD created. "We didn't love it," Flowers said of the '80s-retro tag. "I understand how people want to tie things, and we use keyboards and we like a lot of the music from the '80s, so it's going to come out. We weren't necessarily making an effort to shed that." Flowers knows better than to deny the'80s influence, considering it was part of his songwriting even before the Killers formed. In fact, his previous group, Blush Response, was even more synth-pop oriented than the Killers. That band dumped Flowers in 2001 after he chose to stay in Las Vegas rather than follow the band to Los Angeles. Flowers then met guitarist Dave Keuning through an ad in a local paper, and they formed the early edition of the Killers soon afterward. By 2002, the group's early rhythm section had been replaced by current bassist, Mark Stoermer, and drummer Ronnie Vannucci, and the Killers were off and running -- to England as it turned out. A representative from Warner Bros. UK saw a Killers showcase gig, and although Warner Bros. passed on the band, the representative had a friend at another label, Lizard King Records, who felt otherwise and signed the Killers. It was a smart move, as the Killers became a breakthrough band on the British scene. A showcase gig at the CMJ Music Conference in New York City in fall 2003 netted a U.S. record deal with Island, and the British success carried over to this side of the Atlantic. Flowers has been more than willing to talk of his ambitions to see the Killers become mega-popular on the scale of U2 and other iconic bands. "I'm not quite sure why," Flowers responded when asked why he's comfortable sharing his lofty ambitions. "I guess it's just, it seems like there are people that put such a limit on themselves. Especially nowadays, people seem to be so cynical about everything. I just was never that way. I had a very happy upbringing and I didn't understand the need for negativity.... It (ambition) is a real positive thing. Shoot for it." The Killers, who were last in Edmonton in 2005, playing at the Shaw Conference Centre, plan to keep firing away with this tour. "We love putting on a show," Flowers said. "It's exciting and we feel like in the world of reality TV that we live in, we want to put something on that kind of takes you out of this world for a little while." FRAGILE FLOWERS? The Killers were forced to cancel three of their recent shows, due to singer Brandon Flowers' battle with bronchitis. Last Thursday, the vocalist walked offstage after only two songs at the Red Rocks Ampitheatre in Colorado. Footage of booing fans is posted on YouTube. The rockers also had to kill gigs in Los Angeles (May 19) and Seattle (May 20), but they did perform Monday at the Virgin Festival in Vancouver. Source
May 26, 200718 yr Author It's just a review about their concert in Vancouver. It says some nice things about their skills playing live ^_^
May 26, 200718 yr AND HOW they have moved on sound wise from hoy fuss dont forget the kylie forum :yahoo: :heart:
May 26, 200718 yr now now dont be lazy :P am busy typing It's just a review about their concert in Vancouver. It says some nice things about their skills playing live ^_^ nice! thanks
May 26, 200718 yr yes im trying to revitilize the kylie forum again so keep kylie in mind for me plaese and thank you :heart:
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