The Killers at 3Arena: Nostalgia fills the room in storming set

The Killers

3Arena

★★★★☆

“I look a little bit older (but so do you)”. The cherubic Brandon Flowers hints at the nostalgia filling the room halfway through Reasons Unknown during a storming set by The Killers at the 3Arena on Friday night.

People turned out in force early at the sold-out gig to catch Scottish indie outfit Travis. The early birds witnessed a strong set packed with the hits and a phones-in-the-air tribute to the mothers “who loved you into existence”. The mood for the evening was set when singer Fran Healy, sporting a bright red John Lydon haircut, welcomed the headliners “as the best band in the world”.

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When the Killers arrive on stage, the crowd of all ages are ready for a trip back in time.

Opening with 2020′s My Own Soul’s Warning, things really kick off with Human, which prompts the first of many a cappella sing-a-longs.

Flowers, whose energy never dips across the roughly 100-minute set, confesses that he’s been seeing other audiences on the side but hopes to go “all the way tonight, with your enthusiastic consent”. He certainly gets it for Hot Fuss’s foot-stomping Somebody Told Me and synth-heavy Smile Like You Mean It.

“We are the Killers, brought to you by the great and fabulous Las Vegas,” Flowers says, and the stage show is pretty incredible. The visuals take us from the Vegas strip to the sands of Nevada, and the 42-year-old has a touch of Elvis about him in his black suit and glittering lapels.

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He’s at his theatrical best for Bones but the gig threatens to hit a lull with people heading for the bar soon after until he redoubles his energy for the climactic Runaways. Flowers urges us to “let the angels in” before Read My Mind, where returning lead guitarist Dave Keuning, back on stage after a few years away from touring, gets his moment in the spotlight. Ronnie Vannucci jnr impresses all night on the drums.

The lesser-spotted Andy You’re a Star, with its fantastic, futuristic intro riff, and Spirit, get an airing in a rearranged set from Wednesday night’s gig in Dublin, before the whole crowd are declaring they’ve got soul but they’re not soldiers on All These Things That I’ve Done to close the set in a burst of Tricolour confetti.

There’s a thesis to be done on the remarkable hold Mr Brightside has over the Irish nation. The 2003 anthem has been in the Irish charts for more than 320 weeks despite never rising above 40. Whether it’s a crowd full of darts fans, sweaty nights in the Bróg in Cork, or in a 10,000 strong arena, it transforms the atmosphere in any room. A blistering version kicks off the encore and has Flowers back up on top of the speakers and everyone on their feet and dancing.

A raucous When You Were Young takes us home and Flowers thanks us and tells he hopes “we enjoyed our stay even if it’s just for [three] days”. Those who head to tonight’s final gig of their Irish run won’t be disappointed.