Brandon Flowers is greeting a few guests backstage about a half hour before Friday’s Killers show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Looking every bit the rock star, the 43-year-old frontman is sporting a suit that is either muted pink or burnt orange, depending on the light. He’s wearing an open-collared white dress shirt, showing off his ever-present state of Nevada necklace, what he once called “a cheap pendant from Etsy” he bought 10 or 15 years ago.
It was money well spent. Flowers wears that piece, all the time. Las Vegas ambassador The prominence of this performance is reflected in Flowers’ disposition.
Like a sprinter about to burst from the blocks, he’s tought, his words and movements efficient, giving off a “Let’s get out there” vibe. In a city where “first” and “only” are huge words, the Killers have achieved both in this run at Caesars. It is the first, and thus far only, residency engagement by Las Vegas rock band.
The show marks the 20th anniversary of The Killers’ breakout debut, “Hot Fuss,” played in its entirety. Splashed with Vegas iconography, the show is also a celebration of the band’s exalted position in our city’s history. As the Killers’ primary voice on and off the stage, Flowers has ascended to an ambassador role for Las Vegas.
Two decades as a superstar representative of the city’s past and present, Flowers is becoming what Bruce Springsteen is to New Jersey, or Billy Joel is to New York. Flowers might not se.