Friday, April 15, 2005 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Killers' Instincts

Homegrown band's popularity is still on the rise, and singer Brandon Flowers is developing feuds

The Killers

At the end of December, the Killers played the House of Blues to a sold-out crowd that sang along to most tunes like mad. This was a lot different than a show the Killers did there just three months earlier, which was also packed, but people weren't screaming out their intense loyalty.

At the December concert, singer Brandon Flowers looked like he'd been a rock star for eons. The band -- with only one album under its belt -- slipped in musical references with ease, covering part of Pink Floyd's "Time."

"Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way," Flowers sang.

English bands and new-wave logos hung on fans' T-shirts: Morrissey, The Smiths, Atari. Perfect credentials for fans of a band that plays tight, zippy songs that seemed to be inspired by the Smiths and the Cure and cured by the Strokes.

The evolution of the Killers has been remarkable. During an American debut of sorts at the Coachella music festival a year ago, Flowers looked nervous while he set up his keyboards and microphone. The keyboard didn't work right. And yet, he and the band settled down to finish a fair set of songs.

By September, the band was a hit in Europe and getting radio time. "Somebody Told Me" made the top five of Billboard's modern rock chart. MTV2 was airing a concert. The Killers were nominated for the esteemed Shortlist Music Prize.

And at the group's first big homecoming concert at the House of Blues, the Killers were all there, cohesive and rocking better than most touring bands, even though the group rarely played gigs in the relatively small Las Vegas music scene before it got a record contract.

Even more success followed. The band's debut album, "Hot Fuss," has sold 1 million copies and sits at No. 11 on Billboard's top albums chart after 42 weeks. Radio and MTV have caught on to "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" and "Mr. Brightside."

Along the way, the musicians in their early 20s -- Vegas men who have worked jobs bellhopping and running lab work during boxing matches -- have had an almost obstacle-free route to stardom. They've appeared on Fox's "The O.C." They've headlined England's huge V music festival.

It has been only recently that any real controversy has found them. Flowers was quoted in an interview saying that the new, acclaimed new wave-ish band the Bravery was signed by a record company only because the Killers paved the way.

The Bravery, whose self-titled debut album impressively entered Billboard's album chart at No. 18 last week, fired back. Singer Sam Endicott slammed Flowers to a San Francisco radio DJ, according to NME magazine:

"The poor little guy, he's very scared. I mean I feel bad talking bad about him, because it's like hitting a girl. It's like picking on a kid in a wheelchair, because he has no personality and no sense of humor at all."

A Flowers response hasn't hit the media yet. But the Killers media exposure keeps piling up, giving Vegas -- which has produced only a few other national hitmakers in its history -- a regular presence in the entertainment press. In a recent Rolling Stone interview, Flowers answered the query, "Do you remember your first time onstage with the Killers?"

"Me and Dave (Keuning) played Cafe Roma, in Vegas. It used to be a hip little place, right across from UNLV, where kids in black Converses could go drink coffee and smoke. There was an open mic, and we did `Mr. Brightside' and a song called `Replaceable.' It was terrible, awful. Before we went on, I was looking for a place on the floor to get rid of whatever I'd eaten that day. I didn't throw up, but after my voice broke a couple of times I decided that I'd just play keyboards, because singing made me so nervous. But then I started drinking before those early gigs, like, six or seven beers, and that made it easier."

Flowers also dogged singer-songwriter John Mayer in that interview. A Mormon who smokes and drinks, Flowers was asked, "If you went to hell, what song would be playing over and over?" Flowers pondered, "What song do I hate? I think `Daughters,' by John Mayer, would be a good candidate. I don't know why he bugs me so bad."

Will Mayer fire back at Flowers next? Will the Killers be the band that spawns a new rap-style war of words with rockers and singer-songwriters?

The buttoned-up music industry could only be so lucky.