REVIEW
The Killers

Source

Toward the end of the evening, Brandon Flowers unexpectedly broke into a few bars of
the Frankie Valli oldie "Can't Take My Eyes Off You." It was hard to take your eyes off the skinny, twitchy Killers frontman. He dressed like a riverboat blackjack dealer (dark vest, white
shirt and blue Western-style bow tie) and danced like a wedding crasher
after one too many Fuzzy Navels.

His rock 'n' roll band slayed ¤'em Friday night at
Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center, starting with the
grandiose title track off the group's not-so-new album, "Sam's
Town," released nearly a year ago. The stage was awash in red, white
and blue spotlights as confetti filled the air.

The 15,000-capacity venue was approximately half full, with the
back sections curtained off to create a less cavernous feel.

"Brothers and sisters of Ohio, we are the Killers,"
announced Flowers, 26. "We come from Las Vegas, Nevada, the city of
sin, the city of lights. We've come to share some of our stories and
songs with you tonight."

Stories? What stories? Most of the 90-minute show was marked by
awkward silences between songs. Like amateurs on a first date, Flowers
often couldn't think of anything to say - and neither could his
admirers.

At least the songs themselves frequently struck a chord. In the
case of "When You Were Young," it was a shimmering guitar chord,
echoing the Beatles gem "A Hard Day's Night."

The core lineup of Flowers (who noodled around with a
synthesizer when the mood struck him), guitarist David Keuning, bass
player Mark Stoermer and powerhouse drummer Ronnie Vannucci got a boost
from sideman Ted Sablay on guitar and keyboards.

"Sam's Town" proved a nice place to visit, but you
wouldn't necessarily want to live there. Selections from the album
found the Killers striving for an epic quality, with mixed results.
Catchy keepers such as "Bones" and "For Reasons Unknown" were
offset with a few nonstarters, including "This River Is Wild" (not
wild enough!) and "My List."

Sensing a lull at one point, Flowers declared: 'We need to
kick some life into this show. . . . We're in this together - don't
forget."

Or as he crooned during "Read My Mind": "I don't shine /
If you don't shine."

Lucky for him, it didn't take much to reignite the audience.
Just about any tune from the Killers' 2004 debut, "Hot Fuss," did
the trick, from "Somebody Told Me" to "Smile Like You Mean It"
to the impeccable "Mr. Brightside," which brought the
regular set to an off-the-hook close.

By comparison, the five-song encore was anticlimactic.
Nonetheless, a cover of Joy Division's "Shadow Play" was right up
the Killers' new-wave-noir alley.

Their ruthlessness could use some work, but these hit men came
through in concert with plenty of crowd-pleasing hits.