Photographed @robloud

Walking into a stadium for a show can be overwhelming at first. Thousands of people around you at all times, making you feel small. Then, every once in a while, a band or artist puts on a show that makes that feeling disappear, and in its place, a sense of being a part of a community bonded by this moving thing. Even if you never see the faces or learn the names of the people you share this night with, you know that this shared experience will change you in the same, yet unique, ways. The Killers put on one such show at the Banc of California Stadium in LA.

Johnny Marr opened the night, and his set, with “Armatopia” from his 2019 album, Armatopia. Given Marr’s impressive and remarkable tenure with The Smiths, it is not surprising that he integrated several The Smiths songs into his set. The first of The Smiths’ songs was “Panic” from the 1987 album; The World Won’t Listen, followed by his own “Night and Day” from his latest Fever Dreams. Sometimes, an artist will surprise you with something unexpected, like playing “Getting Away With It,” which can only be found on the live album Adrenaline Baby because this is a song that only truly exists for the live audience. Marr followed with The Smiths’ “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” and his own “Easy Money” from Playland. After what was already a fantastic set that took us on a journey through Marr’s career, he whips out what is undoubted the most recognizable and covered The Smiths’ songs, “How Soon Is Now?”

The time between Marr and The Killers was short but long enough for me to have time to grab some nachos and Reese’s Pieces because I make perfect life choices. By this time, the stadium was packed with fans eagerly awaiting The Killers to take the stage, teased by the illuminated infinity symbol keyboard stand placed at the front and center of the stage. They walked out onto the stage one by one, causing the audience to erupt with pure excitement.

The Killers opened with a bang, literally. They wasted no time shooting off their confetti cannons in the first few seconds of the opening song, “My Own Soul’s Warning,” from the 2020 album for which this tour is named, Imploding The Mirage. It foreshadowed the highly colorful, adrenaline-filled night that was still to come. The Killers continued with “Enterlude” and “When You Were Young” without missing a beat or letting up in the least.

What happened next still leaves me speechless. They started playing “Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine” just as I am sure they did every other show, but out of nowhere, Flowers stopped mid-song music. A man in the front of the stadium was acting erratically, and Flowers demanded that security remove him right then and there, stating that “he is going to hurt someone,” as Flowers confided he was on some psychedelic drug, like LSD. Flowers refused to let up about security, removing this man for the safety of the people around him until security finally removed the man. I have attended a few shows where violent and/or dangerous behavior was evident to the band on the stage and encouraged, which left me furious that anyone would allow harm to come to people who will enable them to do what they love for a living. The fact that Flowers was even watching his fans, let alone willing to stop the show for them to remain safe, has made me an even bigger fan of his as a human being. Once he was removed, they started thesong up again, perfectly in sync, not missing a beat, as if nothing had happened.

The rest of the show, although a spectacle to behold, was far less dramatic. The Killers continued with “Smile LikeYou Mean It” from Hot Fuss, “Shot At The Night”, and “Running Towards A Place”. For every song, the imagery on the screen behind them changed. They displayed everything from album art, to beautifully colored shapes and patterns, to images that take us on an adventure. For “Human”, rows of dozens of boxes filled with dancing people appeared and changed patterns and dances to match the song’s melody. For “Spaceman”, we started in space,among thousands of stars, and traveled through the desert.

I will admit, their next song, “Somebody Told Me”, was the first song I ever heard and remained my favorite, as it will always stay with me in the same way that a first love will always stay with you. Hearing it live for the first time was a moving experience. “Fire In Bone”, “Boy”, “A Dustland Fairytale”, and “For Reasons Unknown” came next. Obviously, no band can go on tour with Johnny Marr and not do a The Smiths cover. That would be a waste. They performed an incredible cover of “This Charming Man” with Johnny Marr. They continuedwith “Runaways” from Battleborn, “Read My Mind”, and “Dying Breed”, before closing the set with everyone’sfavorite, “All These Things That I’ve Done”.

I could never have guessed what they had planned for this night’s encore, and it was worth coming out to the show just for the last three songs. The first encore was “Caution”, followed by the cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way”, both accompanied by the legend himself, Lindsey Buckingham. The final encore, the last song of the night was a culmination of all the amazingness of the night as a whole, “Mr. Brightside” performedby The Killers, Johnny Marr, and Lindsey Buckingham. I nearly lost my mind! There might have been tears of happiness running down my face. Who knows for sure?