Photo by Anton Corbijn
With 2018 just coming out of its cage (sorry), anyone who’s feeling just fine (sorry again) has gotta gotta be down (really, really sorry) to hit up the Killers show on Sunday 1/7 at the TD Garden. Whether you think they’re one of the best or most overplayed bands to come out of the indie rock boom of the noughties, you can’t deny that so many of their tracks are the quintessence of infectious rock music to come out of the mid-2000s.
When they first made waves back in 2004 with the ever-memeable “Mr. Brightside,” they served as many a 20-something’s first introduction to the wide world of indie. On top of that, because of frontman Brandon Flowers’ fascination with the sonic yarns of Bruce Springsteen’s motor-oil-soaked, working-class America, they helped add a much needed storytelling angle to the resurgence of catchy, guitar-driven pop-rock. Not only could you finally bring the Strokes home to your parents, but they’d also charm your folks with their clean-cut personalities and relatable tales.
This is a band so instilled in the millennial psyche that even the simple flurry of notes that begin modern classics like “Somebody Told Me,” “All These Things That I’ve Done” and “When You Were Young” can trigger such a heavy stream of dopamine in the brain that you’d expect Jeff Sessions to treat the band like a Schedule II substance. However, as much as we might have grown since Hot Fuss first dropped, so have the Killers. Fresh off the heels of their fifth studio album Wonderful Wonderful — their first in five years, and a solid return to form — they’ve also been added as headliners to a number of festivals later in the year, including this year’s Boston Calling.
“Ah, yes, of course.” Photo by Anton Corbijn
It’s hard to think of another band that so completely exemplifies the powerful connection between nostalgia and music: who else can so swiftly take you back to a simpler time, when instead of questions like “When will they finally impeach the President?” the biggest question on our minds was whether we were Human at all or instead merely belonged to a shared teenage consciousness known simply as the singular “Dancer?” At least for this writer, there’s no one else that can make me feel so apologetic for getting caught copying Carolyn’s math homework before class (hope you’re reading this, wherever life has taken you, and sorry for that!).
Maybe in 2018, we’re all too jaded to pretend that a single band or concert can drastically change our lives or save us from whatever fresh hell the bureaucratic powers that be have in store for us. The Killers may not look a thing like Jesus but… they just friggin’ rock, okay? So get out, bear that frigid Boston winter and sing your damn heart out to “Mr. Brightside.” You’ve earned it.
The cover for Wonderful Wonderful
Listen to Wonderful Wonderful on Spotify to prep for the show, where the Killers will get support from Alex Cameron.