A Flower By Any Other Name

By Jeannette Madden
Staff Writer

Killers front man Brandon Flowers played to a packed First Avenue nightclub late last fall in support of his newly released Las Vegas-inspired solo album “Flamingo”. Flowers’ solo tour takes place in smaller venues versus Killers-sized arenas.

“I looked up to so many people who had danced and rocked and made history on those stages,” he said. “It was unbelievable to me that I was going on some of these same stages and that I was following in their footsteps.”

“Flamingo”, released Sept. 14, 2010 on Island Records, is material Flowers wrote during 18 months of touring with the Killers in support of their last album “Day and Age.” Originally, it was meant for the band, but circumstances—like being on the road for six years—intervened.

“I would prefer if this was a Killers record, although it would obviously be very different if I’d made it with the band,” he said. “We’re just at different places in our lives right now. It’s no secret that they’re ready to put the brakes on for a second. It’s definitely not the end of the Killers, but you can’t blame them—we’ve been going nonstop since 2003.”

But Flowers wasn’t ready to stop working, and even if he was worried about taking time off, he explained that he’s now seasoned enough as a vocalist to understand that one of his biggest issues is an anxiety of influence.

“It’s not that I think that I’m as good as everybody else,’ he said, “It’s more that now I can let myself believe that it’s possible, and that I can give myself a shot.”

Although some have commented on the similarities between the Killers and Flowers’ solo project, I don’t agree. The Killers sound much bigger, broader and grab you whether you want them to or not. When it’s just Flowers, you have the chance to hear the words and the simpler melodies and ponder what Flowers meant when he wrote them. That’s not to say either sounds better, just different…definitely different. Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my two favorite songs from “Flamingo”: “Jilted Lovers and Broken Hearts” and “Playing With Fire.”

“Ten thousand demons hammer down at every footstep/ten thousand angels rush the wind against my back/this church of mine may not be recognized by steeple/but that doesn’t mean that I will walk without a God” (Playing With Fire).

As far as Flowers’ show, being a Killers fan and already digging “Crossfire,” the first single from Flamingo, I was looking forward to it. Plus, he’s easy on the eyes, so what wasn’t there to look forward to? The first thing I noticed was the huge gold curtain backdrop. It was very Vegas-y, which I thought entirely appropriate considering Flowers’ openness about how much his love for Vegas influences him. I’ve read some reviews where the writers thought the curtain was cheesy or took away from the awesomeness of the musically historical venues Flowers was playing in, but I disagree. The title of the album is “Flamingo” and Flowers is from Vegas. Enough said.

Flowers played all 10 songs off of his solo album. Since I went to hear Flowers and not the Killers, that was fine by me. Based on the Killers music and videos, I was unsure how theatrical the show would be, but basically it looked just like “Flamingo” sounds. Attractive, catchy, understated, thoughtful and sexy, like Flowers himself. Throw in a cover of “Bette Davis Eyes” and three Killers’ covers including “Mr. Brightside”as the final encore and it was a night made for rolling the dice and betting it all in a town a long way from and a lot colder than Las Vegas.

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