Killers, Raconteurs shine at Not So Silent Night concert
Mercurynews

There were a lot of bands Friday at Live 105's Not So Silent Night concert, but only two certifiable rock stars: Jack White of the Raconteurs and Brandon Flowers of the Killers.

Finally, it was time for the headliners, the Killers. There's something ironic about this Las Vegas band topping the bill for a show ostensibly dedicated to ``alternative'' rock. If there is such a thing as mainstream rock in these intensely segmented days, the Killers are right at the heart of it. It's unapologetically commercial music that is alternative in the same way that Billy Joel's ``Pressure'' was ``new wave.''

But the Killers pulled it off with professionalism and a reasonable amount of panache, and they were unquestionably the audience favorites of the night. The band's already got a good selection of hits, but the audience was singing along to album tracks from the new ``Sam's Town'' as well. The '80s-flavored synth-pop of songs like ``Mr. Brightside'' from the band's debut album mixed surprisingly well with the more grandiose widescreen epics of the new disc.

Frontman Flowers, still sporting the mustache and string tie from the ``When You Were Young'' video, apologized for voice troubles toward the end of the set, but he was able to soldier through without much noticeable difficulty.

The whole show ran smoothly, with only a slightly prolonged delay before the Killers' closing set. With six bands playing short sets, there was necessarily a lot of time devoted to tearing down and setting up. The time would have passed more pleasantly without the inane patter from Live 105 morning hosts Woody and Tony.

http://www.thekillersfansite.com