The Killers drop new song ahead of Vegas residency
You can almost feel the confetti showering the crowd.
The Killers are celebrating their first Strip residency production with the new Vegas-tinged tune “Bright Lights,” due out Friday, just ahead of their shows at Caesars Palace. With the group’s debut album, “Hot Fuss,” being played in its entirety during its 20th anniversary, the 10 shows at the Colosseum will run from Aug. 14 to Sept. 1.
“Bright Lights” is the first new music from The Killers since 2021’s “Pressure Machine.”
The band has been teasing the song in a series of clips, adding up to a 40-second trailer, on its official Instagram page. The group’s management confirmed the title this week. The up-tempo song employs a choir and a slick piano riff, with the repeated refrain “Turn the bright lights on.”
By design or not, the song evokes the first line of “Viva Las Vegas.” And similar to U2’s “Atomic City,” which launched that band’s production at the Sphere, “Bright Lights” is released just as the residency kicks off.
The “Bright Lights” clip embraces casino imagery and references, as original band members Brandon Flowers, Ronnie Vannucci, Dave Keunig and Mark Stoermer hover confidently around a roulette wheel.
The guys are winners as the ball lands on 4, and a dealer (for some unexplained reason) deals King-Ace blackjacks across the roulette numbers. The Killers seem to have invented a roulette-blackjack biathlon.
The band also forecasts its stage set, with the famous “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” design and “killers” spelled out, lowercase, within the lighted circles. There is little doubt of the show’s Las Vegas cultural inspiration.
Two decades of shows
The Killers just made a boffo appearance Saturday night at Lollapalooza in Chicago, playing to 100,000 fans. The Chicago Sun-Times review of the show led with: “Nobody does good-natured Vegas showboating like The Killers. It’s a birthright for the electro rockers, after all.”
This has been the case throughout the band’s history in the city. Reviving our ongoing list of favorite Killers shows — including solo appearances by band members — over the years (similar to “Rebel Diamonds,” this is a greatest-hits package):
House of Blues, September 2004: Just after the release of their debut album “Hot Fuss,” the Killers sold out the music hall at Mandalay Bay. “Somebody Told Me” was, at the time, the fan favorite. I started the night in the upper VIP level and ended it on the floor, near the stage, jammed up with a lot of fans who have since followed the band’s entire career.
Empire Ballroom, October 2005: Just Vannucci that night, but he joined fellow rock drummer Matt Sorum of Guns N’ Roses in backing Pink on Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” to open the theater that would eventually be renamed (and later close as) Mosaic on the Strip. Camp Freddy, Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots and Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols also performed. I seem to remember Macy Gray showing up, near sunrise. That was a party of Empire proportions.
Life is Beautiful, October 2013: The perfect band to launch the downtown music festival. The Killers unleashed “Viva Las Vegas” midway through the set, as the crowd’s sing-along echoed off the Fremont Street hotels.
Shimmer Cabaret, Las Vegas Hilton, August 2010: Flowers’ first solo performance, promoting his first solo album, “Flamingo,” easily filled the 450-seat venue (today known as the Westgate Cabaret at the Westgate Las Vegas). I remember when Flowers booked the venue, a hotel rep asked me about him. I mentioned that he was the lead singer for The Killers, and the response was, “Uh-oh,” bracing for the crush of manic fans who turned up for the show.
Zappos Theater, “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” April 2019: Kimmel welcomed the band during his week of shows from Planet Hollywood Resort. We learned that just after high school, Flowers was a food runner and a host at Josef’s Restaurant at the then-Aladdin’s Desert Passage. The place was operated by famed chef Joseph Keller. The first time “Mr. Brightside” was played publicly was Flowers’ demo for the staff at Josef’s. The song was well received.
Celebrity nightclub, August 2006: This show at the long-ago closed club on Third Street and Ogden Avenue was for winners of a MySpace ticket giveaway. I remember walking in with then-Palms owner George Maloof and slipping near the front of the stage. During “On Top,” I shouted to Maloof, “You look like Vannucci!” He laughed. Another tight show of 400 fans, partying at what is today Pizza Rock.
Vegas Strong Benefit Concert, December 2017: “Mr. Brightside” was the roaring, penultimate song at a sold-out T-Mobile Arena. The band closed the nine-song set with another take of “Viva Las Vegas.” An all-star, only-in-Vegas cast that included Imagine Dragons, Wayne Newton, Penn & Teller, Blue Man Group, Carrot Top and David Copperfield took part.
The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, April 2022: Uniquely memorable for the bounce of the club’s spring-activated floor, activated by jumping fans.
T-Mobile Arena, August 2022: “Brightside” always closes. But how about “The Man,” whose video was recorded at the Plaza? Strong effort, with the statue of David in the background. And “Somebody Told Me” had the place moving, the crowd’s arms swaying in a tsunami of happiness.
As I walked out someone called over, “Why aren’t The Killers in residency in Vegas?” We have the answer now.
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.
