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Concert Review: Killers break a leg at Austin' Stubbs The Killers -a hot, clean-cut baby band promoting one of the better rock debuts in recent memory, ''Hot Fuss'' -gave them their answer in all of 45 minutes at the sold-out show. The catchy, '80s influenced synth-rock (stripped down and more muscular in concert) is not so much murderous glam as it is dressed up Strokes or dumbed-down Cure. Take your pick. There's no wrong answer. On this night under a clouded full moon it was just fun, visceral modern rock off ''Hot Fuss,'' which sits at No. 29 on the latest Billboard 200 chart and has sold more than 2 million copies. The Killers took the outdoor stage bathed in blue light and accompanied by Andy Williams' syrupy ''Love Story.'' The lighthearted surrealism of the moment was instantly broken with opening number “Jenny Was Friend of Mine.” At times, the band can come on quirky like Television. Just as quickly it's moody '80s New Wave. Almost all of it is a mid-tempo mash, intoxicating if not exactly well-aged — Strokes-influenced pop such as ''Smile Like You Mean I'' and ''Change Your Mind'' given a stop-the-world-and-melt-with-you vibe. But none of it sounded quaint or nostalgic in this band's musical marriages, which recalled Soft Cell and the White Stripes. It's as if the Killers have perfected a formula of slowing down familiar melodies like Sheena Easton's ''Morning Train'' and somehow making it goth and cool. For example, ''Indie Rock 'n' Roll” featured a Mott the Hoople chord structure that tugged at the heartstrings and seemed to connect much less self-consciously than, say, Maroon 5. Predictably, the Killers' signature hit ''Somebody Told Me'' turned into a scream-along disco dance number. Unpredictably, it was unleashed early. By the end of the night, somewhat reserved lead singer Brandon Flowers (he's anchored by necessity to a short stack of synth keyboards at center stage) took to climbing the speaker stacks to make his point on the hit ''Mr. Brightside,'' but there was no need. The clipped, raucous number that uses David Bowie's and Queen's ''Under Pressure'' and Bob Dylan's''Subterranean Homesick Blues'' as its inspiration, took on a life of its own as a closing anthem for this short, sweet set. And it was the most killer of them all.
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