#dave keuning

GLASTO 2005 Friday

PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY!

THE KILLERS

TIME: 9:50PM STAGE: PYRAMID STAGE

Another album down the line and the world could be Brandon Flowers’ plaything

Forget what you thought you knew about this gig. The Killers might have had the kind of year only Satan can arrange for you with your soul as collateral, but tonight’s show is no cakewalk. Tonight, Brandon Flowers minces along a thin line between potential greatness and leaping clean over the encroaching shark that’s claimed the credibility of so many. First, there was the mutually destructive war of words with The Bravery, which shifted plenty of units but lost both bands respect on all sides. Then came Brandon’s egomaniacal U2 comparisons, that jacket, and some rather disquieting (and definitely unprintable) rumours of Viking-esque sexual rampages. Michael Eavis may have offered them Glastonbury on a platter (which, in a rare moment of humility they refused) but make no mistake, the gauntlet is well and truly thrown down this evening.

Things don’t start well. Drummer Ronnie Vannucci has grown a beard – usually a sure sign that something’s amiss – and casually tossing off ‘Somebody Told Me’ as their opening song doesn’t do them any favours. Then there’s the fact that Brandon – elegantly decked out in a mint dinner jacket with black lapels – is shit scared.

You can’t blame him; the crowd is properly massive. But then he’s going to have to get used to that. When the weather’s this grim the muddied masses need something to connect with, not a poseur whose aloof attitude stinks worse than a hippy’s nutsack.

But just as we’re about to send Brandon back to rock’s Room 101 for the Bono Talk something weird happens. ‘Smile Like You Mean It’ touches a nerve and tugs a heartstring, and thousands sing along. ‘Andy You’re A Star’ repeats the trick and suddenly they’re on a roll. They end on a spectacular triple-whammy of ‘Glamorous Indie Rock’n’Roll’ (sung, as it should be, without a shred of irony), ‘Mr. Brightside’ and ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’, and suddenly, we’re looking at 2007’s headliners. Solitary newie ‘All The Pretty Faces’ is promising, too. Another album down the line and the world could be Brandon Flowers’ plaything. He knows it, too. “Wow, it’s turned out pretty beautiful tonight, hasn’t it?” he asks the crowd in his sole speech of the evening. And he’s right. Glasto ’07 here we come. Barry Nicolson

Q&A BRANDON FLOWERS

How was Glasto ’05 for him?

Apparently you had quite an eventful trip down? “Well, we went to Stonehenge on the way which was fun, then we left Dave, our guitar player, at a service station and that put us a bit behind. We actually drove for about an hour before we realised he was missing. So that really set us back. How did we leave him behind? He’s oblivious to what’s going on. He’s the only person who ever gets left behind. Not just with the bus; if a group of us were walking down the street it’s always Dave who’s trailing.”

Any regrets at not taking Kylie’s place? “Maybe if we never get to that point, then that would suck. But I think we made the right decision and as long as we keep writing good material we’ll get there ourselves. We want to achieve that in our own right, but we really want to do it in the future.”

Are you going to have a look round the festival while you’re here? “Yeah, my brother’s here so we’re excited to go out and about. Anything I’m looking for in particular? Yeah, food! We’re probably going to watch The White Stripes tonight, too. We’re going to have a good night but unfortunately we can’t stay; we’re off to France.”

What’s your tip for keeping clean? “Stay away from Jo Whiley! She just got my pants dirty and I didn’t plan on changing these.”

Endless pop energy bursting from Las Vegas! Their second album, released some two years after their debut album, which sold 7 million copies worldwide!

The Killers

「Sam’s Town」