Gig Review: Brandon Flowers At The Royal Albert Hall

Brandon Flowers proves that it’s possible to listen to both Johnny Cash and New Order as he lets his country influences take over for a personal show at the Royal Albert Hall that feels like the most sincere he’s ever been - you’re never once left wondering where The Killers songs are

People sometimes worry about when artists do heel-turns into country music, and sometimes for good reason. Especially for a band like The Killers that have been so adopted by the British public for years. But it’s important to remember that The Killers aren’t British – they are from Fabulous Las Vegas – as they put it – and Brandon Flowers has always fought the two influences in him. For a long time – a very long time – his influences ranged to New Order, Bruce Springsteen was about as far American as The Killers allowed themselves to get, with shades of Tom Petty.

Yet quietly; alongside the big arena ready anthem hits, Flowers allowed himself a departure from the band to recognise that there were; as online meme culture puts it, two wolves inside him – and from being taught to be ashamed of the country music to embracing it; this feels like a reminder that this is very much not a heel turn – Flowers has been doing country music for over sixteen years, especially with first single release ‘Crossfire’ at this point – there’s never really been a ‘heel turn’ to escape from. Just to issue the point this is very much not a Killers show there is no usual fan-favourites – don’t go expecting ‘Mr. Brightside’ and there’s no ‘The Man’. There’s certainly no ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’. And that is a GOOD THING. We’ve heard these songs countless of times – something new is welcome.

In fact – there’s only four Killers songs on the entire night – half unusual suspects such as ‘In Another Life’ and ‘In The Car Outside’ – brave choices; especially here, not notable ones, but makes perfect sense when you realise this is Flowers telling a story on the night – and he is, despite it all, one of America’s greatest singer/songwriters, one of America’s greatest storytellers -  but the crowd are allowed to go appropriately apeshit for ‘Read My Mind’, deployed in the encore – and ‘When You Were Young’ midway through the set – where he, jokingly, knowingly telling the audience all these years later – he’s always been in the service industry and asks how he can assist them tonight, you buy it with complete sincerity of one of rock’s most experienced frontmen – he has, for a long time, been to the music industry what Tom Cruise has been to Hollywood, existing to entertain first and foremost.

In the build up to the first Killers song deployed, which predictably sets the building on fire and wakes EVERYONE up, ‘When You Were Young’, he asks the crowd whether they would want to hear Jim Carroll Band’s ‘People Who Died’ or another song, and then launches into The Killers classic (as much as it’s welcome man did I want a Brandon Flowers rendition of PEOPLE WHO DIED) with the gusto and charm that would get you going to war for.

You get the feeling that there is no support tonight because The Killers songs are their support – this is the Brandon Flowers show first and foremost, and buckle up for an evening where he proves that you don’t have to choose between New Order or Johnny Cash, there is room in your heart for both. Honestly; the way this tour is structured, more songs from ‘The Desired Effect’ as the stadium anthem pelters would’ve been welcomed, but the stripped down, countryfied take on ‘Read My Mind’ feels ready and primed for an audience on the bridge of explosion of a (miss) atomic bomb.

Flowers lays bear his influences and upbringing. He talks about his family; his past; his school years. ‘THRASHER’ is the most personal record the seemingly eternal showman has ever done. For good and for ill. ‘The Red Ground’ gears up – ‘Does it Ever Cross Your Mind?’ asks the audience to dig deeper; and man, oh man ‘Crossfire’ still leaves a mark sixteen years later. It’s Flowers unashamedly staying true to his country origins and embracing the music that his dad told him to make – and his dad telling him “FINALLY” after having made a country record for a change. That’s never been more apparent on what comes next: the three track run of ‘Tiger’s Blood, Plans’ and ‘Paradise’, which Flowers opens to mean anywhere regardless of the situation you’re in. His sincerity and honest openness has you inspired with complete conviction. ‘Still Want You’ is earnest, full of yearning, and my god, the YEARNING here is off the charts: and whilst there are missteps in the lyrics of ‘Angel’ (Flowers well meaning, touching on racism in America but not the right man to tell this story) it’s impossible not to be swept up in how Flowers completely and utterly commits to them, especially in ‘Miss America’ about his sister and her escape from an abusive relationship feels a completely brilliant work of art, deeply respectful and a love-letter to her survival of her struggles.

“Chocolate and vanilla swirls / There’s gonna be a little girl” is a blunt force instrument of ‘Angel’ – and this is where Flowers’ flaws come in. He’s almost sincere - which is both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness; almost too sincere, to a fault where a little more subtlety is required as it’s hard to tell whether he comes across as being sarcastic or earnest. Although there are few tracks from ‘Pressure Machine’ played - we only get ‘In the Car Outside’, tonight to make up for the album that was deployed when the Killers couldn’t tour during the pandemic - some of Flowers’ songs feel very reminiscent in spirit – and this is at home with the ‘Cody’ and ‘West Hills’ in the world, it’s not quite his ‘Nebraska’, it’s not quite post-country or post-anything, this is pureblood country without any pretense rather than a subversion. In these lyrics, Flowers comes across as painting America as a land of little hope – shining a light on the people that inhabit it. Flowers here is adopting the tone and landscape of the dystopian – by shining spotlight on the ordinary person, flaws and all, spotlighting the best and the worst of humanity.

The encore, when it comes, is triumphant, a celebration of the American dream and the ideals and optimism that Flowers strives for. He introduces the whole band; and leads the audience on a high embracing the community of everyone gathered there tonight. He is special; he knows the audience is special. And he thrives on that. It is a testament to a show from someone like Brandon Flowers that you’re left thinking there actually didn’t need to be any Killers songs here at all, as few artists going solo from a band like that have the ability to create their own world purely independently. Thankfully Flowers is one of them.

Photography by Rob Loud