Though Brandon Flowers isn’t free from haters, one thing was obvious Saturday night – he is loved by more.
The audience at Liberty Hall in Lawrence was a diverse group. Hipsters, bros, children, seniors – they were all united for this one show. And while there plenty of crushing women there, there were plenty simply there just because they like music; and, if you can believe it, there were even more guys in attendance than women.
Travis frontman Fran Healy opened the show with an acoustic set of Travis songs and solo material. Before each tune, he told little anecdotes that ranged from his love of darts, his birthday party show the last time he was in Lawrence and turning vegetarian for Paul McCartney. The songs were pleasant, and easy to listen to with his lilting accent, but it were these stories that were most memorable.
Set List
Sing (Travis)
Sing Me to Sleep
Moonshine
Dear Diary (Travis)
As It Comes
Writing to Reach You
Buttercups
Brandon Flowers took to the stage and it seemed as though the amount of people in the venue had magically tripled. Looking around as he began the reflective, “On the Floor,” and seeing all the lips moving along, it was a great surprise to see that these people weren’t just there for the curiosity of seeing The Killers frontman. They actually knew the solo material! Another great surprise was seeing that joining Brandon’s backing band was KC local and former Ghosty guitarist Jake Blanton. Brandon even gave Blanton a special shout out later in the set right before an acoustic performance of the Killers’ “When You Were Young.”
Anyone at the show would be hard-pressed to criticize a moment of Flowers set. Sure it was just barely over an hour, but it contained essentially all the solo album material, a flawless cover of 80′s classic “Bette Davis Eyes” and two reworked Killers tunes. Flowers performed with a charismatic energy that carried him to jump on monitors, reach out to the crowd, perform quirky, but fun dance moves and perhaps the best part – a contagious smile. Vocally, he didn’t miss a beat — or a pitch. The solo material on recording has the alt country vibe that makes it fitting for a bar-type venue, but Flowers managed to carry these tunes to a higher level live. They were anthems. “Crossfire,” as a single could have been expected to be huge, but “Jilted Lovers” and “Playing with Fire” also exploded with their vocal intensity. “Was It Something I Said” and “Only the Young” turned the venue into a rocking dance party.
Flowers didn’t give quite as many anecdotes as his opener, but the few stories he did tell were interesting notes on the material. He explained the pilgrimage behind the beautiful “Magdalena” and his love of his home before “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas,” but the most fascinating story was about a song that almost didn’t happen: “The Clock Was Tickin.” This is a song about Flowers’ mother’s life. The song is a lively country song as it details how Jackie fell in love, raised all those kids, but then it slows down as the family has to say goodbye, before picking back up again. It’s kind of beautiful that he wrote a song that instead of mourning her death, celebrates her life. So why didn’t the studio want it to happen? Too country and too different they said. Which Flowers said was funny, because it is essentially the same tune as “Was It Something I Said?” Regardless of what the studio originally said or thought, everyone listening to that song that night would probably agree that they are glad that Flowers finished the song and shared it.
The night, of course, ended with the aforementioned “When You Were Young.” It was a perfect evening and for anyone who gets the chance, check out Brandon Flowers on tour. These songs only get better when you hear them live.
Set List:
On the Floor
Crossfire
Magdalena
Bette Davis Eyes
Jilted Lovers and Broken Hearts
Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas
Was It Something I Said
Hard Enough
Losing Touch
Swallow It
Only the Young
Playing with Fire
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Clock Was Tickin
When You Were Young (acoustic)
