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Breaking my back just to know why I went there... A review of the Killers live at Sepang!

The Killers are one of the more critically and commercially successful acts of the last decade, so it will come as no shock to know that they held a well attended concert here in Malaysia a few weeks ago.  I work at the speed of sound here... only two weeks late!

First thing to note about this concert it was EXPENSIVE (though not expansive *rimshot*)  The ticket was RM 238 which is not really a heck of a lot ($70USD) but when you account for having just gone to the Good Vibes the month before for only RM 168 ($55USD) it seems ridiculous.
owwww my wallet

This was an all-ages show, which I have vowed never to attend after the horrors of working an all-ages Good Charlotte concert *shudder* about ten years ago. This set of terms and conditions cracked me up... you can't see it unfortunately but some douche kept shining a laser pointer at the sign.

Ladies and Gentlemen - NO BOMBS
 I'm not gonna lie, the girls I went to the concert with were definitely enjoying the atmosphere and there was something electric about the thousands of fans lined up for the gates to open.  The guards were an improvement over the Good Vibes Festival as they, unfortunately, did not molest any of us; however, they did refer to us as either boy or girl. "you boy come here" - hilarious.


We set up shop/camp/stoop in the 18+ drinking area and secured a place right at the front.  I think we were happy with the location, although it was hilarious that the VIP area was actually beside us (read: further away).  Check out my pics.


The opening act - Kyoto Protocol

I have no idea why the crowd isn't rocking out more

The sheer power of Kyoto Protocol's rocking....

Bathed these girls in ethereal light


The concert review crew
 I think something that we all agreed on was that Kyoto Protocol is becoming one of our favourite bands. We caught the tail end of their set at Good Vibes and it set the mood for the evening. Their lead singer is a good rock vocalist and I think the band has a really great live sound.

At one point I actually opined that I would be perfectly OK if the Killers never bothered to come out and we just listened to another set by the boys in Kyoto Protocol. I forgot, however, that this was after 3 beers and I had yelled that in a throng of Killers fans... After the beating ended and when I regained consciousness they finished their energetic set and we had our short wait until the main act started.
The drinking area was reeeeeaaaallly far away

The poor guys are tiny
 The first thing I noticed was the distinct lack of any cool set design or showiness in the decor.  This is a bland stage.  We were definitely used to this coming off shared festival stages, but I personally was expecting more.  I'm gonna state now I am not a Killers fan and I do not know what symbols or imagery are associated with them.  The only decor I saw are the star emblem thingy at the back and the lightning bolt podium/keyboard stand and that confused the hell out of me.




At first glance I thought this was a 'Z' and I thought I may have time travelled to a 'Weezer' concert, then I realised that would have been a 'W' not a 'Z.'










 The next image in my head was of David Bowie's iconic 'Aladdin Sane' album cover, but I've seen Bowie, twice, and he never has a lightning thingy that I saw...  finally I figured it out....






 OK... Maybe not


On to the show.  The lead singer came out and the band eagerly jumped into one of their hit songs.  He awkwardly pulled his leather jacket off, revealing his 'Marty McFly-esque' outfit and bounced around on stage while belting out the chorus.  After about 3 minutes I realised he had like 4 nice lead-singer moves and honestly very little emotion.  I'm not sure if it was the heat or the confused lightning bolt but I couldn't "feel" the music.  Good rock but no soul?

Another thing I generally dislike about big bands is that every jackass in the audience sings along for the famous songs.  Would I like to pay RM 238 to hear the drunken Indian guy beside me sing "Mr Brightside"? Nope!  Did I?  YESSSSSssssssssssssssss.

So before I bid you all to enjoy my pictures I'll summarize...

Good

  • Generally speaking a good concert
  • Kyoto Protocol rocks
  • venue was actually ok
The Bad

  • expensive for an outdoor freestanding concert
  • no decor
  • cute hot dog girl from good vibes was not there =(

The Ugly

  • the lightning bolt
  • music and showmanship meh
  • the lead singers shirt -seriously


He's sing-ing VERY HAAAAAAAAAAAARD *DRUM BEAT* somebody told him

the people are bouncing


he looks like he's punching

And now he is falling

I had a good view of the screen *blink blink*

How come they can use lasers and we can't

The blackness... is the crowd and we chose this spot!

Oh that's why....

Too many lasers are just gaudy ;)

Don't give up! the guy in the white collar needs you to rock his world!

Finish off with a laser bombardment

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