Concert Review: The Killers


Tonight we went to our first concert in Japan and boy oh boy it did not disappoint. If I had to describe this show in 2 words, it would be...and pardon the pun....ABSOLUTELY KILLER!!!!

The show started at 7pm, but went got there at about 6:10. We weren't sure if the show was general admission or assigned seating, so we wanted to make sure we had a decent view. As soon as we walked in the venue I had the biggest smile on my face. The venue was extremely quaint...my favourite! It was held at a place called Namba Hatch and it is such an initimate venue. Imagine the stage and dance floor at the Commodore....that is what the Hatch is like MINUS the seating on each side of the dance floor. There was a balcony, but it was closed off. I wish I could've taken some pictures to show you, but my camera was confiscated at the front door!

We walked in to see there weren't any seats. I was a little bummed out hoping to God that my back wouldn't get pissed off standing the whole time. It was pretty sore, but it didn't matter...it was worth it. I will admit though that it was painful not being able to rush to the front and completely rock out! I definitely had the opportunity to, but it wouldn't have been the smartest thing to do.....especially according to my live-in nurse ;) We were super close to the stage...about 8 rows back if there had been assigned seating. It was awesome!

The band came on at about 7:20 with the lead singer yelling"Oooooooosakaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" and the crowd of about 300 people clapping and chanting "Hey, hey, hey, hey". It was wicked! They opened up with "Sam's Town" followed by "When you were Young". The crowd went wild during the songs, yet when each song was over.....everyone would clap...not cheer....clap and then there was dead silence. Ha ha ha! At first I was like "What??? Seriously?? Awkward!!!!" Even Brandon Flowers said "Well, it's great to be back in Japan....uhhhhhh.....I can't speak Japanese, so I'm not too sure what to say". Ha ha ha!! Later on in the night he said "So everyone here should tell your friends how good the show was and maybe next time we come we can sell-out the balcony and then it will be twice as loud in here." What a smart ass, but we found it amusing! It would be kind of weird to play in a country that didn't understand what you were saying in between songs!

After they played one of my favourite songs "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine" I decided to be an obnoxious gaijin and scream out during the dead silence "That was awesome...you guys rock". The band smiled and the people around me just laughed. Whatever! That's what I do at shows.....cheer and yell! Just another interesting cultural difference between Japan and what I am used to back home.

In addition to The Killers wicked performace....it was really cool to see all these Japanese people who know little or even no English at all sing to every single song and completely rock out. I loved it...it was a great scene!

The size of the venue, the lighting, the crowd, and the fact that The Killers sounds amazing live made this quite a memorable show. It is hard to say what my favourite song of the night was because they were all so good. Hot Fuss is one of my all-time favourite CD's and the song "All These Things That I've Done" was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good to sing live to. There were also a lot of great songs played from their newest CD "Sam's Town", but I was a bit disappointed that they didn't play the catchy tune "This River Is Wild". I will admit that at first I wasn't a fan of the CD , but the more I listened to it the more it grew on me. CD's are pretty expensive here, so I copped out and downloaded the 2nd CD. At the concert I was like "What? I have never heard this song! Wait.....I have never heard this one either." It was then I realized that abut 5 of the songs I had downloaded weren't even the right ones! Oops! Maybe that is why I didn't really care for the whole album. So I made it up by buying the real CD at the concert.

I recommend both CD's to everyone and if The Killers come to your town, definitely buy a ticket....especially if they play at a small venue!!! This show has made me super excited to see more concerts in Japan. If Club Quattro is as small as Namba Hatch is..the Snow Patrol show in April is going to be WICKED!!!!! Fingers crossed they don't bail/postpone for the 4th time!

**Like I said my camera was taken away at the front door, but I found this pic on-line and it looks pretty much exactly what we saw tonight**