The Korea Herald

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The Killers prove you don’t need to be a soldier to have soul

By Korea Herald

Published : Oct. 6, 2013 - 18:51

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The Killers perform their first concert in Korea on Saturday in the Olympic Hall at the Seoul Olympic Park. (Hyundai Card) The Killers perform their first concert in Korea on Saturday in the Olympic Hall at the Seoul Olympic Park. (Hyundai Card)
Chants of “I got soul, but I’m not a soldier,” filled the Olympic Hall on Saturday night with thousands of rock fans singing along in unison with the chorus line of The Killers’ hit single, “All These Things that I’ve Done.”

In the band’s first ever performance in Korea, the Las Vegas natives Brandon Flowers, Dave Keuning, Mark Stoermer and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. rocked Seoul during their live concert over the weekend. Although getting off to a bit of a late start, keeping the audience waiting anxiously for more than 20 minutes for the band’s set to begin, the rock stars sauntered out onto the stage to be met with a clamor of cheers as the band opened with “Mr. Brightside” and electrified the stadium.

“It only took us 10 years,” said lead singer Flowers, referencing the fact that this was the band’s first trip to Korea despite having been in the industry more a decade already. “Do you forgive us?”

The Killers concert was part of the “Hyundai Card Culture Project” series, which has in the past brought big name acts such as Keane, John Legend, Ke$ha, Jason Mraz and many others.

The crowd of fans continued to jump and dance the night away as band, led by the ’80s rock style vocals of Flowers, went on to play some of The Killer’s all-time favorite hits including “Human,” “Somebody Told Me,” “Smile Like You Mean It,” as well as singles from their latest album “Battle Born” such as “Runaways,” “The Way It Was” and “From Here On Out.”

However, Flowers isn’t the only one who had the crowd members electrified on their feet; Drummer Ronnie, who was wearing a T-Shirt that spelled out his name is Korean, had the audience shouting his name throughout his impressive drum solos.

The night concluded with the band mates rocking out to their 2006 megahit single “When You Were Young,” leaving the audience reminiscing to the times when the song was playing on practically every radio station in the West almost a decade ago.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)