Music that will never 'leave you cold'

Reading NME the other day and a certain part in an interview with The Killers really struck a chord with me…

‘Flowers bemoans the rise of EDM, which, he says, “has taken oven Las Vegas. Those guys – David Guetta, Deadmau5 – they’re the superstars. They’re doing residencies at the big casino nightclubs. I’ve always had a foot in the synth world, so some of that stuff is OK, but…”

It leaves you cold?

“I just don’t understand how you can get attached to it. How can it shape you, the way a rock band can shape you?”

That small snippet of interview, especially that last line, will stick with me for a long time. Because to me, it just says everything about why I listen to the music I do, and why I’m so attached to it.

Brandon Flowers on stage with the rest of The Killers. Image: Zimbio.com

I’m always asked why I’m so involved with bands and why I go on and on about them – probably to an extent of serious annoyance – all the time on Twitter, Facebook, even in person.

But unless you’re involved, I just don’t think you’ll ever get it. I’m a teenager who has grown up in a world dominated by social media, and if you hadn’t noticed by now I like to write about things I’m passionate about. I love having platforms to express myself on, and why shouldn’t I talk about good, real music?

After all, it deserves to be talked about. Because the main reason why I totally get what Brandon is saying is because music, real music, speaks to you more than EDM ever will.

David Guetta and the rise of EDM. Image: doandriodsdance.com

And for me, it goes further than just EDM. I’m a band person. I love nothing more than to hear something as simple as great lyrics, drums, a guitar and bass. That pure talent right there in just a few simple things brought to life by three, four or five talented individuals.

I’m not all for the Justin Biebers and One Directions of this world. I can’t even stomach Take That (choreographed moves are a no go zone for me). And please don’t get me started on The Wanted… ‘She can’t sing, she can’t dance, but who cares? She walks like Rihanna’ – The only thing I get from The Wanted’s latest hit is, indeed, ‘who cares’?

But, saying that, each to their own. For me personally it’s always been about great bands making even better music. Sure, people can be passionate about EDM and the like (it is great for a night out) but it does leave me wanting more, just something else. I want lyrics I can relate to, musicians I can look up to, and music I can sing along to.

That’s why I’ll gladly pay money to see a band more than once, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been started at blankly by people who don’t get why you’d see someone more than just one time; “isn’t once enough?” they ask, “surely it’s just the same each time?” But it’s not about that. When music really gets to you, you’ll go to see the same band or artist as many times as you can because you want to support them, show them appreciation, and most importantly have a great time.

The Script on their Worldwide Tour. Image: thescriptmusic.com

I’m an avid football fan and I go to matches all the time, it’s something I love and supporting a team and being part of something is a fantastic feeling. Supporting a band is more or less the same. The buzz, the enjoyment, the feeling part of something.

I wrote this blog in an attempt to explain my often over the top passion towards the bands I love and support – namely The Script and The Killers – but I appear to have rambled.

I guess what I was trying to say was in Brandon’s quote all along: “I just don’t understand how you can get attached to it. How can it shape you, the way a rock band can shape you?”

It's definitely an attachment – for life – and I owe a lot to the bands who have shaped me, and given me some pretty great memories along the way.

“From Dave’s apartment to Wembley”

Reeling off a list of greats to grace the stage at Wembley in a specially written song for the occasion, Brandon Flowers exclaims the next line with pride: “after tonight, you’re gonna put another name on that list!”

It’s taken ten years for the band from Nevada to get to this point. Ten years, four studio albums, and a hell of a lot of grit and determination. They’ve shaken off their critics, like all bands do, and come back stronger. Their latest album Battle Born showing them to be as robust as ever, and well worth a place amongst the elite to have played at Wembley Stadium.

I’ll wax lyrical about Saturday night for a long time, but I have a reason to, and you’ll just have to take my word for it: I’ll never see a better show than The Killers at Wembley Stadium.

The full picture. Image: thefa.com

The lyrics ‘We hope you enjoy your stay’ rang around the stadium as Brandon appeared on stage, solo at the piano singing Enterlude, before being joined by the rest of the band who burst into When You Were Young – complete with pyrotechnics galore. We were jumping, singing, dancing and drenched in (what I hope was) beer, and the show had only just begun.

After soaring through Spaceman, The Way It Was and Smile Like You Mean It, Brandon asked the crowd if it was alright if they sang one of their old numbers, before firing into This River Is Wild. That was it: the sixth song in, and my night had been made.

The rest of the phenomenal set was laced with the records which helped them rise to fame, as well as sensational covers of Shadowplay and I Think We’re Alone Now. They lit up the whole of Wembley with Here With Me and had us all mesmerized by their Wembley Song, name checking the greats to have played Wembley – ‘U2, Oasis, The Foos, The Eagles, Madonna and Muse’ – apologising for the past – ‘Green Day, I said some shit, but that was the old me’ – and brilliantly including their own lyrics – ‘the devil’s water and the good old days, ain’t we all just runaways?’ – making the night incomparable to any other concert or gig I had been to before.

Brandon Flowers. Image: theguardian.co.uk

All These Things That I’ve Done saw Wembley bathed in confetti, before the band came out for an encore to Flesh and Bone. The band flew into Jenny Was Friend Of Mine before the rousing Battle Born, and finishing the only way a show like this could be finished: with Mr Brightside.

There’s no over-hype surrounding The Killers. They are just a band of four phenomenally talented individuals – Brandon Flowers on vocals, Dave Keuning on guitar, Ronnie Vannucci Jr. on drums and Mark Stoermer on bass – four talented, yet down to earth people, who as a unit make pretty bloody great rock music. It’s as simple as that.

One humbling moment of the show saw Brandon doing his usual thanking the audience by coming along the front row, but this felt different. He was shaking as many hands as he could; he was down there for ages. And it really struck a chord with me because you could see just how grateful he was that they were there.

And straight after the show? Right back to it again, as the band were whisked away to a secret after show gig at The Garage in Islington, where they played the usual hits as well as songs like Tranquilize and Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll to a lucky few.

The Killers on stage. Image: NME.com

In an interview in NME magazine in the week leading up to the Wembley appearance, Ronnie talked about how when they were playing in his garage, right back at the start, he said: “We’ll play this shit at Wembley Stadium one day” and on Saturday night, they did just that.

Some said they weren’t big enough for Wembley. But after their huge performance there, many will say Wembley wasn’t big enough for them.