The Killers at Koko, 12/09/12

The Killers played three intimate shows in London this week, starting with the HMV Forum on Monday for a Radio 1 gig, followed by the iTunes festival at the Roundhouse on Tuesday and finally, an appearance at Koko on Wednesday, which was being recorded for Channel 4's London Live Series.  These gigs gave fans who were lucky enough to win tickets, the opportunity to see a band more used to selling out arenas, play in such small, intimate venues.  Though I was not successful in winning tickets for any of the shows, a fellow member of The Killers fanclub - The Victims - had a spare ticket to the Koko gig, which he very kindly gave to me.  Thank you, James!

As this show was being recorded for TV, the set was shorter than a standard gig - the band came on stage promptly at 8:00pm and were finished just before 9:00pm.  At almost an hour in length, the setlist inevitably consisted of the band's most well known singles (no previous album tracks here) along with four songs from Battle Born.

I had resisted from listening to any previews of the new songs until the album was released, so aside from 'Runaways', It was my first time hearing the new tracks in full, but great to experience them in a live setting.  Upon first listen of the new material, it sounds as though the band have made a clear departure from the sax driven sounds of Day & Age.  These new songs, in particular 'Miss Atomic Bomb', suggest the band have gone back to the basics of Hot Fuss, though 'Flesh And Bone' and 'Here With Me' bare traces of Brandon Flowers' solo project, Flamingo.  However, it is difficult to write a review based on just one listen, so I look forward to hearing the album in full when it's released on Monday.

The new material was well placed in a setlist featuring the band's most loved tracks.  Their signature synths were present throughout the show, but shone most on 'Smile Like You Mean It' and 'All These Things That I've Done' - my favourite tracks of the evening.  My one and only gripe is that there were moments when the sound was muddy, at times Flowers' vocals were unclear and occasionally lost in the music.  However, the overall sound improved as the gig progressed.

All in all, the band delivered a fantastic performance in an intimate venue bursting with energy and atmosphere.

Setlist                                       

'Runaways'

'Smile Like You Mean It'

'Flesh And Bone'

'Human'

'Here With Me'

'Miss Atomic Bomb'

'Mr. Brightside'

'When You Were Young'

'Somebody Told Me'

'All These Things That I've Done'