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In an interview last year Flowers said it's time someone knocked the Irish rockers off their pedestal as the biggest band in the world. Twelve months later the band is at the arse end of their world tour promoting their third album, Day & Age.
The current tour is obviously aimed at pushing the band into new markets with South American and South African shows added for the first time to their usual North American, European and Asian itinerary.
Although their final South African show on Sunday night strangely took place in a polo field near Paarl, the band brought their A-game.
From the opening number "Human" from their latest album to the fantastic climax of "When You Were Young" off their second album, the pace was relentless and almost flawless. The set was well-paced with the songs cut from across all the Killers' album releases. Some of the highlights were "Mr Brightside", "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine", "This Is Your Life" and "The World We Live In".
The video production was subtle and in your face - a little bit like the Killers. The focal point of the show was Flowers who sang, cajoled, danced and tried to move the crowd with an energetic performance. The other members of The Killers looked a bit like a backup band with drummer Ronnie Vannucci (short blackhaired guy), guitarist Dave Keuning (dodgy 70s perm) and bass player Mark Stoermer (early 70s rocker look) laying the platform for Flowers to do his thing.
It doesn't really matter. The Killers have the tunes in their back catalogue to get the crowds dancing and singing along.
The quality of their studio work will ultimately decide if these alternative rockers will get to the top of the tree. I think fellow Southern rockers Kings of Leon might have something to say about that.
• Postscript: The traffic in and out of the venue was simply horrendous. The location of the Val de Vie Polo Estate obviously complicated things for organisers Big Concerts, but it was evident there was little in place in respect of a parking plan. It's a pity since shoddy organising spoiled a great night out for many people.
