“The Killers” featuring Johnny Marr concert review
Photo © 2022 Chris Phelps www.chrisphelps.com Imploding the Mirage Tour 2022 Bryce Jordan Center - University Park, PA 10.4.22.
The Killers are an American rock band formed in Las Vegas in 2001 by lead singer Brandon Flowers and lead guitarist Dave Keuning, soon joined by bass and rhythmic guitarist Mark Stoermer and drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr..
They are currently on tour for their sixth studio album while in the process of recording an eighth, and they decided that no umbrellas were allowed inside the venue on this rainy day.
The opening act, Johnny Marr, is an English musician, singer and songwriter who was the guitarist and co-songwriter of The Smiths. He and his band went on at 7:45 p.m. and played some alternative and indie rock music which sounded fantastic.
They had a similar sound to The Killers, so similar, in fact, that some crowd members thought they actually were The Killers. Johnny Marr was definitely the right choice for an opener because he had a great sound and voice and pumped the audience up for the main act.
Finally, at 9:00 p.m., the long-awaited moment of The Killers taking the stage had arrived. The standing general admission section was packed and fans were jumping and screaming.
The first song on The Killer’s setlist was “My Own Souls Warning” off of their 2021 album, “Imploding the Mirage.” The band paired this with a magical explosion of confetti into the crowd.
Flowers kept the energy high with catchy beats and a shout-out to Penn State, and this continued when the band played one of their most popular songs, “When You Were Young,” which elicited an enthusiastic response from the audience.
During each song, The Killers had bright and colorful lights that shined on and off with every beat and detailed, beautiful graphics to pair, such as a flower blooming, a road twisting and turning and an intergalactic world. There even was a violinist and female background singers that really brought these songs to life.
During the song “Human,” Flowers used a robot voice effect on himself while singing as the lyrics appeared largely on the screen. This unique approach turned even more extraordinary as the screen displayed tons and tons of humans, each in a tiny box dancing in and out of sync. While the other songs had multiple bright colors flashing, “Human” only used white.
Halfway through the set list, The Killers played their second-most popular track, “Somebody Told Me,” and the crowd went wild. Flowers delivered with powerful vocals and an energetic stage presence Flowers also sang beautifully during “Runaway Horse,” where he used his falsetto angelically.
The Killers put on a killer show throughout performing the rest of the setlist and ended their last song with golden sparks shooting up and down out of the screen.
“Mr. Brighside!” people screamed, as The Killers left the stage. Audience members got out of their seats and a confused murmur filled the arena.
In just a few minutes they were back, and with Johnny Marr as well. They all jammed to a song together, and to top off the encore, the familiar sound flooded all ears: “Mr. Brightside.”
After all that, Vannucci threw his drumsticks into the crowd and had a literal mic drop moment to which he said, “Thank you for this job.”
The Killers brought a lot of their own unique elements and twists to the concert that overall made it a fantastic show.
They even amended their setlist for every show. Here was the October 4 setlist at the Bryce Jordan Center:
1. My Own Soul’s Warning
2. Enterlude
3. When You Were Young
4. Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
5. Smile Like You Mean It
6. Shot at the Night
7. Cody
8. Human
9. Spaceman
10. Somebody Told Me
11. boy
12. Pressure Machine
13. A Dustland Fairytale
14. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
15. Runaways
16. Read My Mind
17. Caution
18. All These Things That I've Done
Encore:
There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
Mr. Brightside
Rachel Fisher is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email rlf5481@psu.edu.
