Brandon Flowers brought his solo ‘Thrasher’ tour to the UK and played an epic show featuring The Killers classics at London’s Royal Albert Hall last night (Thursday October 15). Check out footage, the setlist and what went down below.
The gig came in celebration of Flowers’ latest solo album, which arrived in August and saw him provide a rare glimpse into his upbringing in Utah, embracing the country music he was raised on.
After kicking off the 20-song setlist with a feel-good rendition of ‘The Red Ground’, Flowers spoke to the audience about why he wanted to capture that particular sound across ‘Thrasher’ and show people an insight into another, lesser-seen chapter of his life.
“For 25 years I’ve been telling people that I’m a rock and roll star from Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s become the truth. If you wear the mask long enough, it becomes the face,” he began. “But when I was eight-years-old, my parents moved us out of Las Vegas and into small-town Utah. Alfalfa fields, rodeos and dirty Diet Cokes.
“That was 30 years before The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives… Back when I was a kid, ‘Mormon wives’ were just what we called our friends’ moms,” he quipped. “In the truck that my dad was driving, it was Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings playing, whether you liked it or not. I spent a long time being embarrassed by that music, but tonight, I’m going to play it to you.”
He then went on to play ‘Does It Ever Cross Your Mind?’, before playing his 2010 solo track ‘Crossfire’, and sharing how it proves that he has always had an urge within him to embrace his childhood influences. “People always ask me when I went country, and I always say it was about 16 years before anybody noticed,” he shared.
Donning a black, rhinestone-studded Nudie suit and backed by his solo band, the night saw Flowers breakout other ‘Thrasher’ tracks including ‘Tiger’s Blood’, ‘Plans’, ‘Paradise’, ‘Angel’ and ‘Miss America’ – and share little-known anecdotes throughout the night about his family and upbringing.
These included how his sister’s strength to escape an abusive relationship helped shape some of the record, and how he always envisioned ‘Tiger’s Blood’ and ‘Plans’ as resembling two roads, with “one being the road to ruin, and the other being the road back”.
Flowers also explained how ‘Lonely Road’ embodied how his love of country and rock music can co-exist, regardless of if any naysayers think otherwise. “I can love New Order and Johnny Cash, nobody is keeping score,” he said. “I wonder what New Order would sound like if they were Johnny Cash… probably something like this.”
While the setlist was predominantly based around the singer’s latest album, some Killers tracsk did make the cut, including a subdued rendition of their 2021 song ‘In The Car Outside’ from ‘Pressure Machine‘, and more elaborate, lively performances of ‘In Another Life’ and ‘Sam’s Town’ classic ‘Read My Mind’.
“I don’t say this lightly, and I try to not make it seem like a boast, but when I look at what has happened to me in my life I can only see it as a miracle,” he said at the end of the night. “There is no other word for it. I got out of the city of Paradise [in Las Vegas] and I found my very own slice of it on stages like this, on nights like this, with people like you.”
Country Road, take me home…To become a Rock’n’Roll Star! @BrandonFlowers taking over the @RoyalAlbertHall 🕺🏻 pic.twitter.com/v89DQWFLdD
