The Killers
Toyota Center
May 14, 2023
About halfway through Sunday night’s concert at the Toyota Center, Brandon Flowers offered a mea culpa to the packed venue.
“Welcome to the better-late-than-never portion of the ‘Imploding The Mirage World Tour,'” The Killers frontman said with a laugh. “Third time’s a charm, am I right?”
He went on to tell the crowd how sorry he was for twice rescheduling the show — once last September and again this March — due to illness, but promised fans that it was worth the wait.
“If there’s a silver lining — and I believe there always is — it’s that you are getting us at our most well-oiled,” Flowers said enthusiastically. “You didn’t want to see us six months ago; you wanted to see us tonight!”
Fans cheered, and all was forgiven as the Las Vegas native began singing “The Way It Was,” which fittingly mentions the best laid plans not working out.
Wearing a pink jacket and oozing showmanship, Flowers appeared to glide across the stage for two hours straight, stopping only to share the occasional uplifting word with the crowd.
Confetti littered the stage during “When You Were Young.” Lasers shot into the rafters during “Somebody Told Me.” Two fans were brought onstage to play bass and drums during “For Reasons Unknown.”
In between these highlights, The Killers slowed things down for “Runaway Horses” from Pressure Machine, which was recorded during the peak of COVID-19 pandemic.
“We realized not everyone would like this album, but we knew people in Texas would,” Flowers said before adding with a chuckle, “I hope we were right.”
Afterward, the band turned the energy back up with “Runaway” before closing out the evening with half a dozen fan favorites in a row. By the end of the night, no one was talking about the multiple cancelations.
It has been said that good things come to those who wait, and that adage proved true for fans of The Killers on Sunday night. Better late than never, indeed.
SET LIST
My Own Soul’s Warning
Enterlude
When You Were Young
Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine
Smile Like You Mean It
Shot At The Night
Running Towards A Place
Human
Somebody Told Me
Boy
The Way It Was
For Reasons Unknown
A Dustland Fairytale
Runaway Horses
Runaways
Read My Mind
Dying Breed
Caution
All These Things That I’ve Done
The Man
Mr. Brightside
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
