Las Vegas Weekly

Surprise! Killers playing at a club near you

Frontman Brandon Flowers of The Killers atop the balcony of The Bank nightclub during Sunday’s impromptu performance.

Photo: Laura Davis

What’s a perk to living in the hometown of one of the biggest current names in music? Impromptu Sunday-night performances.

Photo: Laura Davis

The Killers' surprise performance at The Bank nightclub Sunday night was short but sweet.

Vegas superstars The Killers gave a surprise performance in front of an at-capacity crowd Sunday at Bellagio’s The Bank nightclub when they took to the club’s balcony at 2 a.m. (The rumored start time was midnight, but when you’re an international rock success time isn’t money — you are).

Frontman Brandon Flowers dressed down for the occasion, opting for a collared button-down and khakis over his infamously elaborate feathered stage wear, matching the unpretentious mood of the night’s performance.

Photo: Laura Davis

Brandon Flower's singing "Mr. Brightside" at The Bank nightclub.

Opening with “Human,” Flowers seemed stiff and initially didn’t appear to be feeling the short set, which consisted of a whopping two songs. But for the closing number, “Mr. Brightside,” he got into the act, addressing the audience with a Vegas shout-out and leaning over the balcony, arms out-stretched, under a showering of tiny bubbles that fell from the ceiling mid-song.

The brevity of the mini-show may have been disappointing — right as the energy began to build the quartet walked off-balcony, the live “Mr. Brightside” giving way to the recorded Papa Roach’s “Last Resort” — but for an unadvertised show that was free for locals (non-locals had to pay $40), it was hard to complain about unmet expectations. There simply were none.