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Killers pick up Vegas glitz Jane Stevenson torontosun What was the first clue at the Air Canada Centre last night that The Killers hail from Sin City? Could it be the glittery confeffi that rained down on the huge crowd who turned out to see the popular pop-rock outfit just as the show began? Or maybe it was that white screen with the words "Sam's Town" in large red letters above it onto which black and white footage of Las Vegas was projected before the band even took the stage. Either way, it was an incredibly dramatic opening for the group who have apparently learned a thing or two about visual showmanship since playing a stripped-down show at Kool Haus last November. Too bad it didn't always translate into an engaging performance. Playing on a stage decked out in sparkling white lights, red velvet drapes, a piano with a welcome sign, flowers -- in homage to singer-keyboardist Brandon Flowers -- and an olden wooden plank floor, The Killers kicked off the night with the title track from their 2006 sophomore album, Sam's Town That was followed by such new crowd-pleasers as Interlude, When You Were Young -- later reprised as their final song of the night -- Bones and older favourites Somebody Told Me, Smile Like You Mean It and Jenny Was a Friend Of Mine, the latter three from their 2004 breakthrough disc Hot Fuss. The energy also picked up again with the huge older hit Mr. Brightside, with muscular drumming by Ronnie Vanucci, and the encore tunes For Reasons Unknown and the spectacular show-ending All These Things That I've Done, which finally featured a truly passionate Flowers on top of his piano singing the chorus, "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier!" Still, the band would do well to work on their pacing, not to mention Flowers his stage banter, given they had ripped through their first 10 songs in about a half-hour. Flowers, who was visually inspired by the Old West on the latest disc, still sports that love-it-or-hate-it moustache and western-inspired clothes right down to some mighty campy looking black and white calfskin boots. But he said almost nothing between songs and sometimes lost an important connection with the audience as a result. Only Keuning leaned towards Flowers' theatrical bent, dressed in a metallic silver jacket while, by comparison, Vanucci and Stoermer played it safe in workmanlike clothes. And why was the fifth touring musician playing a second guitar, keyboards and singing background largely in the shadows to the right of Vanucci's drum kit? Just asking.
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