All the ligers were out tonight with haircut crazed madness, dashing to buy touted tickets for whatever extortionate price was being asked. Even as my party and I waltzed in midway though The Futureheads set, there were still nervous punters haphazardly running up and down the street outside asking ‘any spares mate?’ It’s not surprising really with four bands of this level all for £15 – tis a bargain in anyone’s books….unfortunately I missed the first two bands (oh no) and the final two didn’t really live up to expectations.
I was mainly going tonight to see The Killers as lets face it Mr Brightside is a truly awesome tune – one of the best of 2004 it has to be said – so while waiting for this one song I stood crushed, facing a wall trying to block out the two chord faux punk that was emanating from the stage in the form of The Futureheads. Their rise to fame has been meteoric (as has all the bands tonight come to think of it) but I really can’t see why these Geordie popsters are popular. Try as I might I could not find a single ‘song’ in the whole set and I certainly can not remember even a semblance of a tune or melody; not even a vague whisper at the back of my head. Mind you there were times when the crowd got more than a little excited and there was even some crowd sing-a-long activity so maybe I am just deaf.
Finally, after the high of the night previously being watching a pair of upside down legs floating across the crowd in front of the stage, The Killers make it upfront. Brightside is sung. I get a little excited, sing along, raise my hands and yes, there was even a little bit of feet shuffling. This is good. I am actually enjoying being part of a large crowd as we join together and unite in voice of glad joy….blah blah blah. The song ends and the rest of the set is a let down. No other song comes close to reaching the same level of greatness and it’s all a bit meh now. So much so I decide to squeeze out of the mêlée and get a beer, taking the long way round and being disappointed when I come back and they haven’t even got to the encore yet. Speaking of which was two songs long; or more correctly a slightly different version of Brightside (it probably wasn’t but the rhythm and timings were almost exactly the same from where I was standing – or maybe it was just wishful thinking) and some other song that failed to excite.
I am sure I have heard more than one song from The Killers that I liked. Maybe I should dig out the album and listen to it more intently. I am sure they would have played latest single ‘Somebody Told Me’ at some point (which should have redeemed the set for me) but I can’t for the life of me recall it being played….and maybe that is the point… The Killers just aren’t killer enough live.
Reading back over this review it sounds like I had a miserable time. I didn’t really, I had a blast but after looking forward to it all, I left feeling done over – well I would have if I had paid £60 for a ticket like some of the mugs outside. Har Dee Har!
