Day 4: Killers rocked with tributes to the young and old

Streamers streamed and fans screamed as The Killers rocked the Bluesfest City Stage with a hit-filled set last night at LeBreton Flats Park.

The Sin City superstars (minus bassist Mark Stoermer, currently on hiatus from touring) strutted onto the laser-blasted stage to the Las Vegas anthem of Frank Sinatra’s Luck be a Lady.

A brief introduction by band frontman and lead singer Brandon Flowers declared Ottawa the Vegas of the night.

The band then opened with a no-fluff rendition of their iconic debut album-opener, Jenny Was a Friend of Mine, skipping the studio version’s synth intro and jumping straight to its iconic bass riffs.

High energy and fist pumping continued through chart-topper “Somebody Told Me” and fan-favourite “Spaceman,” before being reeled in slightly with the sentimental “The Way it Was.”

A soulful rendition of synth-pop hit Shot at the Night, featuring female vocals absent from the studio version, ended with a blackout of the main stage lights. A spotlight revealed Flowers donning a Stetson cowboy hat, accompanied by a slower, darker intro to The Man before exploding into the chorus with a corresponding explosion of confetti. It’s the lead single of the group’s most recent album, 2017’s Wonderful Wonderful.

The group continued to showcase their recent work with the equally uptempo but contrarily dark “Run for Cover,” before returning to older fan-favourites with 2004’s “Smile Like You Mean It.”

While teasing the crowd with the opening riffs of “For Reasons Unknown,” for what seemed like an eternity, Flowers’ face curled into a smirk.

“You look like you’ve done this before,” said Flowers to a familiar face at the front of the crowd—a fan named Tony.

Tony had previously been invited onstage to drum for the song during Glasgow’s TRNSMT music during the 2018 album tour for Wonderful Wonderful. Drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. beckoned Tony onstage, handed off his sticks, and joined guitarist Dave Keuning with a guitar of his own.

The band is no stranger to letting fans drum during “For Reasons Unknown.” The 2018 tour saw several fans take the stage at different shows, including one viral performance with a Toronto fan at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

The superfan performed admirably, evidently having practiced in the year since his last appearance. At the end of the song, Tony launched into a lengthy and unexpected drum solo, to the surprise of the band and the cheers of the audience.

With Vannucci Jr. back in his seat, the band performed a tribute to Ottawa, with A Dustland Fairytale seamlessly transitioning into “Lovers in a Dangerous Time,” by Ottawa legend Bruce Cockburn.

Within the next few songs, the band made another tribute—this time to soul musician Bill Withers—with “Lean On Me” taking over the ending of “Read My Mind”

After another painfully long period of teasing, “All These Things That I’ve Done had Flowers giving charge of the chorus to the crowd, which snowballed into the crowd-pleaser finale, “When You Were Young”.

With a certain chart-topper still conspicuously missing, and the unspoken agreement that they should help the band find it, the crowd grew increasingly loud, prompting the performance of Human.

One final tease later, the obligatory “Mr. Brightside” (with a Jacques Lu Cont-remixed first half) wrapped up the truly killer performance.