The Killers at Wembley Stadium, London - 22/06/13

Playing Wembley Stadium is a feat few bands achieve in their career, but for The Killers, last Saturday's gig at the 90,000-capacity venue holds further sentiment in that it marks a decade since the band's first ever UK gig, at intimate club, The Dublin Castle in Camden. In those ten years, the band have released four studio albums, ranked up 20 million worldwide record sales and played countless festival headlining slots, all of which have culminated to this mammoth gig at Wembley - their largest performance to date.

The band took to the stage just before 9:00pm, with Brandon Flowers playing 'Enterlude' solo on the piano. The set then got underway with fan favourite 'When You Were Young', followed by the equally energetic 'Spaceman'. Flowers' vocals were on top form throughout the two-hour gig, though it was the Battle Born material that really demonstrated his range, most evidently on 'The Way It Was' and 'Miss Atomic Bomb' - both of which were highlights of the evening. The rest of the band also showed great musicianship, in particular Ronnie Vannucci, who played an impressive extended drum solo that led into 'From Here On Out'. Other key tracks included, 'Read My Mind', 'A Dustland Fairytale' and Sam's Town rarity 'This River Is Wild', while songs like 'Human' and 'Runaways' kept the pace flowing and momentum high.

The most surprising moments of the night came in the form of a cover of 'I Think We're Alone Now', while 'Wembley Song' paid tribute to artists who have previously played at the venue. The track also reflected upon the band's career, with lines of "Mr. Brightside had you scratching your head / When you heard we were from Vegas / But you were positive it was Sheffield or Camden... You took us in like your own" being a clear reference to Britain's early embracement of the band, and how this support shaped their rise, from the days of 2004's Hot Fuss right up to the present sounds of Battle Born. It was perhaps inevitable then, that 'Mr. Brightside' - complete with fireworks and confetti - would round off the superb four-track encore and draw the fantastic evening's performance to a close.

Setlist

'Enterlude'

'When You Were Young'

'Spaceman'

'The Way It Was'

'Smile Like You Mean It'

'This River Is Wild'

'Bling (Confessions of a King)'

'Shadowplay'

'Miss Atomic Bomb'

'Human'

'Somebody Told Me'

'I Think We’re Alone Now'

'Here With Me'

'For Reasons Unknown'

'From Here On Out'

'A Dustland Fairytale'

'Wembley Song'

'Read My Mind'

'Runaways'

'All These Things That I've Done'

'Flesh And Bone'
'Jenny Was A Friend of Mine'
'Battle Born'
'Mr. Brightside'