The Killers at Philips Arena Dec. 18

 Access Atlanta
by Phil Kloer.

Small, dark and handsome, Brandon Flowers of The Killers is one strangely charismatic lead singer. He took the stage at Philips Arena Monday night for 99x’s sold-out Mistletoe Jam dressed in tight black pants, black vest and a glittery white sport coat that would have been borderline cool in a Vegas lounge in 1966.

With his close-cropped hair, pencil-thin moustache and spry, jittery dance steps and hand flourishes, he looked like a riverboat gambler dandy who was busting out his inner Bobby Darin Watch it now! Here he comes! All of this while maintaining a perfect poker face - well, the band is from Vegas.

It was quite a change from their last show here, playing in a downpour at the last Music Midtown (sob) in 2005. Then Flowers seemed a lot more repressed, and with only one CD ("Hot Fuss"), the Killers felt a lot more of a one-note band. Now they’ve opened up their sound with follow-up "Sam’s Town" that owes more to basic American heartland rock. Even though Flowers is completely the focal point, the musical crunch comes from Dave Keuning on guitar, Mark Stoemer on bass and drummer Ronnnie Vannucci, who was separated at birth from Earl Hickey on TV’s "My Name Is Earl."

The Killers concert was a make-good from earlier in the month, when Flowers got sick and had to postpone. Tickets were $9.97, an amazing bargain at at time when concert ticket prices are suffering from inflation that outpaces Weimar Germany.

The crowd turned the hits - "Mr. Brightside," "Somebody Told Me," "When You Were Young" - into shoutalongs, with their new Christmas song, "A Great Big Sled," saved for the encore, on a stage loaded with more than 20 Christmas trees. Flowers wished the crowd a merry Christmas, and pretty much left it at that - patter is not his strong suit - but screaming along to "I’ve got soul but I’m not a soldier" was gift enough for all.
 

http://www.thekillersfansite.com