Killers caught off-guard by booing during show in former Soviet state
The Killers have unwittingly found themselves apologizing for an ill-fated drum solo.
The Vegas-born rock stars were headlining a show at Black Sea Arena in Batumi, Georgia on Tuesday night when frontman Brandon Flowers brought up a fan to play Ronnie Vannucci’s drum set. It is common in Killers shows for the band to invite fans to the stage
But the man the band brought to the stage was from Russia, a country that invaded Georgia in 2008. About 20 percent of Georgia’s recognized territory remains under Russian military occupation.
— The Killers (@thekillers) August 15, 2023
In the latter segment of Tuesday’s show, introducing “For Reasons Unknown,” Flowers reportedly said, “We don’t know the etiquette of this land but this guy’s a Russian. You OK with a Russian coming up here?” Some in the crowd booed and walked out.
Flowers addressed the discomfort after the song.
“You can’t recognize if someone’s your brother? He’s not your brother?” he called out. “We all separate on the borders of our countries? … Am I not your brother, being from America?” He also added that “we’re here together.”
“I don’t want it to turn ugly,” the 42-year-old rocker said. “And I see you as my brothers and my sisters.”
— The Killers (@thekillers) August 15, 2023
The band then posted on social media, ““Good people of Georgia, it was never our intention to offend anyone!” the group later wrote in a statement. “We have a longstanding tradition of inviting people to play drums and it seemed from the stage that the initial response from the crowd indicated that they were okay with tonight’s audience participation member.”
A rep for the Killers declined further comment. There might be more from the band regarding the incident.
Since the onset of Russia’s war on Ukraine in 2022, there has been an influx of Russians moving into Georgia. There have been reports of backlash against Russians, including harassment of that country’s cruise ships.
The protesters were reportedly a small but vocal group. The show continued, unabated, through its encore, “When You Were Young.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.