Friday 12/11/04 The Killers, Ambulance Ltd @ Academy, Manchester

November 15, 2004 by Daniel Pratley

The Killers Ambulance Ltd pull their psychedelic pop off more than adequately. Sounding like The Thrills frontman Connor Deasy spliced with the swagger of an early Jagger they pack quite a debut. Hailing from New York and citing influences that basically touch on every recent genre and decade, these lads step up to the Academy with an assurance usually saved for the headliners. It’s a shame they weren’t really.

They know their market. Entering stage left to Andy Williams’ croon classic ‘Cant Take My Eyes Off Of You’ The Killers set the scene by petitioning quality, glitz and glamour - and lets face it, Manchester needs it all. No one seems to know it more than the capacity Academy crowd. The screeching pitch of which tells of the fans' demographic make-up: hundreds of squealing ladies, sprinkled with hype hunters.

While The Strokes wallow in drone, The Killers twinkle and shimmer, opening with the poptastic ‘Mr Brightside’, the song that broke them into the mainstream and stripped New York's finest of the posh-nob indie badge now worn so proudly by the ‘Vegas boys. Modestly displaying it is one thing, lugging a blaring banner like a failed street whore is another. ‘Glamorous Indie Rock&Roll’ sets your teeth on edge with its ostentatious, pompous and clichéd lyrics, its shite in its purest and stickiest form.

Like many Killers' tunes the early twitches of songs are the most pronounced and effective, prolonging the ugly reality which is often just a dull tremble. ‘Smile Like You Mean It’ and its synth driven pounce, does exactly this, as does ‘Somebody Told Me’ which leads with Brandon Flowers’ best (hokey-cokey) foot while the proceeding bars falter and flip them on their ‘indie’ arses. It's frustrating because potential is high at the outset, but they piss it all away before the song is finished.

Not since Dillinger brought his ghetto blaster to town has bass of such proportions shaken Manchester, re-arranging your bowels and filling the empty refrains with at least a little substance. As a live entity they’re a tight, vibrant collective, managing both crowd and the stage with the poise and natural glide you’d expect from a ‘Vegas outfit, and its hard to fault the delivery, but it’s not enough when coupled with empty songs. The point is they could be amazing, because live they kick the shit out of their studio recordings, but a polished turd is still a turd, it aint no diamond.

‘Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine’ saved for the first part of the encore manages to display a little of the glamour and quality originally proposed but it’s all a little late and lacklustre. Other tours were steeped in expectancy but tonight their crowd are here and there’s nothing more to prove, so expect nothing much and you wont be disappointed.

Photos by Stuart Antrobus

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