Killers slay Seattle audience

"Sam's Town" the new album from Las Vegas alternative rockers The Killers may not be one of the best albums of the last 20 years, as lead singer Brandon Flowers has boasted, but his stage performance at WaMu Theater Sunday night shows he's a talent to be reckoned with.

Dressed in a dark suit, vest and red bolo tie, with a flashy set of sparkling ruby-red boots, Flowers is able to win fans and critics alike as a stylish and commanding vocalist. Along with guitarist/vocalist Dave Keuning, bassist/vocalist Mark Stoemer and drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr., the band tore through an explosive hour-long song set that had fans screaming and dancing from the get go.

The band opened with the titular track from their new album as black-and-white images of beauty queens, a big-horn sheep and dilapidated mobile homes were projected on a screen at the front of the stage. Silhouetted behind the screen, the band received a euphoric greeting from the capacity crowd as the screen dropped, strobe lights flashed and confetti cannons covered the audience in debris.

A "Sam's Town" sign hung above the front of the stage and Flowers commanded the crowd from a perch atop the stage monitors for most of the show. The band's mix of straight ahead rock tinged with new-wave synthesizers and the occasional drum-machine kick drum made for an upbeat show from start to finish.

If "Sam's Town" is a bleak portrait of Americana, then "Uncle Jonny" is by far the darkest song on the album. On it, Flowers deadpans, "When everybody else refrained, my uncle Jonny did cocaine. He's convinced himself right in his brain, that it helps to take away the pain."

The synth-heavy "Read My Mind" and more poignant "When You Were Young" balanced the bleaker songs with more light-hearted fare.

The band played most of "Sam's Town," without a second to waste between songs. When the band finally took a break, Flowers apologized for having to cancel last week's planned Seattle show. A bout with bronchitis caused him to re-schedule their Denver and Seattle appearances. In his first show back, Flowers sounded as strong as ever.

The band was able to ride on the strength of their newer material, but peppered the set with hits from their debut-album "Hot Fuss." The strongest applause of the night came for "Mr. Brightside" and the cheeky "Somebody Told Me" with its clever chorus "Well somebody told me you had a boyfriend who looked like a girlfriend that I had in February of last year."

The band played a five-song encore that included a cover of Joy Division's "Shadow Play" and "My List" with opening band Louis XIV's front man, Jason Hill, joining Flowers on vocals.

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