The Killers made their UK live return with an intimate show at the O2 Academy in Sheffield last night (May 17). Check out photos, footage, the setlist and more below.
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Brandon Flowers and co took to the stage at the 2,150-capacity venue to warm up for their 2022 UK and Ireland stadium tour, which kicks off in Doncaster next Tuesday (May 24). It marked the Las Vegas band’s first performance on these shores since they headlined Glastonbury in 2019.
Opening with the widescreen, anthemic sounds of ‘My Own Soul’s Warning’ from 2020’s ‘Imploding The Mirage’, The Killers dazzled the small crowd with confetti cannons and a sound and energy they usually reserve for spaces 30 times this size.
“We hope you enjoy your stay/ It’s good to have you with us/ Even if it’s just for the day,” Flowers sang on ‘Enterlude’ from 2006’s ‘Sam’s Town‘, further taking the room back to the ’00s with a triple-header of ‘When You Were Young’, ‘Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine’ and ‘Smile Like You Mean It’.
“It’s been a couple of hard years – how’re holding up? Alright?” a grinning Flowers asked the crowd ahead of the latter track. “Thank you very much. There’s been a lot of separation, there’s been a lot of uncertainty. But there’s one thing I’m certain of: we are together tonight, so let’s do something about it.”
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‘Blowback’ and ‘Running Towards A Place’ then made way for an unexpected early airing of indie classic ‘Mr Brightside’, as Flowers commanded fans from atop the monitor stacks. “We’re The Killers, and we’re brought to you by way of fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada!” he said, launching into ‘Somebody Told Me’ from their debut ‘Hot Fuss‘.
Reflecting on The Killers’ recent first shows of 2022, the frontman told the audience: “We did some warm-up shows in Vegas. It was good but tonight feels a little bit better. Thanks for coming.”
The groove-led, Bowie-esque ‘Fire In Bone’ came next, with The Killers also dusting off their staple cover of Joy Division‘s ‘Shadowplay’, before two more stripped-back numbers from last year’s ‘Pressure Machine‘ followed in the form of ‘In The Car Outside’ and ‘Runaway Horses’.
Later, Flowers took stock of the band’s time away from the UK over the opening piano chords of 2008’s ‘A Dustland Fairytale’.
“Oh, man – it’s such a strange thing that it’s been three years,” he said. “This feels so familiar but when you look at the days… it’s been a thousand days. It’s wild.”
He continued: “I hope you can tell that we’re genuine though when we talk about our love for this place. Man… I mean, you changed our lives! And we do love coming here – this is our spiritual home. You took these sentimental Americans in, and we won’t forget it.”
‘Runaways’ from 2012’s ‘Battle Born‘ blended into the synth intro of the fan favourite single ‘Read My Mind’. Returning for the encore, The Killers played ‘Spaceman’, ‘Human’ and ‘Hot Fuss’ rarity ‘Midnight Show’ before finishing with a huge singalong of ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’.
Midnight Show @thekillers #HotFuss pic.twitter.com/YDOx6slyD4
— tom skinner (@TomSkinner_) May 18, 2022
Great to have The Killers back. Awesome night. @O2AcademySheff @thekillers pic.twitter.com/u9bKgRxTNS
— Lee (@manse79) May 17, 2022
Shortly after the band exited the stage, drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr returned with a final parting message: “Thank you very much from the bottom of our hearts. We wouldn’t be able to do this shit for jobs if it weren’t for you.”
The Killers played:
‘My Own Soul’s Warning’
‘Enterlude’
‘When You Were Young’
‘Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine’
‘Smile Like You Mean It’
‘Run For Cover’
‘Blowback’
‘Running Towards A Place’
‘Mr. Brightside’
‘Somebody Told Me’
‘Fire In Bone’
‘Shadowplay’ (Joy Division cover)
‘In The Car Outside’
‘Runaway Horses’
‘A Dustland Fairytale’
‘Runaways’
‘Read My Mind’
‘Dying Breed’
‘Rut Segue’
‘Caution’
Encore:
‘Spaceman’
‘Human’
‘Midnight Show’
‘All These Things That I’ve Done’
You can see The Killers’ full 2022 UK stadium tour dates below – find any remaining tickets here. Support will come from Blossoms (dates marked **), Manic Street Preachers (dates marked ##), Sam Fender (^^) and Supergrass (~~).
MAY 2022
24 – Doncaster, Keepmoat Stadium**
26 – Bristol, Ashton Gate##
28 – Coventry, Ricoh Arena##
30 – Southampton, St Mary’s**
JUNE 2022
1 – Middlesbrough, Riverside Stadium##
3 – London, Emirates Stadium^^
4 – London, Emirates Stadium^^
7 – Falkirk, The Falkirk Stadium~~
9 – Norwich, Carrow Road**
11 – Manchester, Emirates Old Trafford**
14 – Dublin, Malahide Castle^^
15 – Dublin, Malahide Castle^^
Additionally, the band are set to appear at various European festivals this summer, including Open’er Festival in Poland, Mad Cool in Spain and Lollapalooza Stockholm in Sweden.
The Killers’ seventh studio effort, ‘Pressure Machine’, came out in August 2021. The group shared seven new songs on a deluxe edition of the record in March.
Last year, the group revealed to NME that they were already at work on a “heavier” new album. “It’s a little bit more canyon rock,” explained Brandon Flowers. “Maybe a little bit more traditional Killers, I guess.”
Ronnie Vannucci added: “We were messing around on the stage for a virtual show the other month and it felt like there was this rock n’ roll thing happening. I could see us going in that direction: something a bit more energised.”