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Killers Announce B-Sides Release Date

Eva Lam — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 21:41:00 +0000

The Killers will release their B-sides collection, titled “Sawdust,” on Nov. 13.

The release via Island Def Jam will feature Lou Reed, formerly of the Velvet Underground, guesting on the track “Tranquilize.”

The tentative song list also includes “All the Pretty Faces” (the B-side to “When You Were Young”), a cover of Mel Tillis’ “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town” and two songs the Killers recently contributed to movie soundtracks: “Move Away” from “Spider-Man 3,” and “Shadowplay,” a Joy Division cover from the Ian Curtis biopic “Control.”

The band says that previously unheard songs written during sessions for 2006’s “Sam’s Town” will likely appear on “Sawdust” as well.

In other Killers news, the band will release their second annual holiday single, “Don’t Shoot Me Santa,” on Dec. 1. Profits from the single will benefit the RED campaign, which fights AIDS in Africa. The Killer’s holiday single last year, “A Great Big Sled,” also raised money for RED.

Review: Toronto’s Virgin Festival, Day Two

andPOP Staff — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 16:20:11 +0000

On what was supposed to be a day of rain, Virgin Festival’s Sunday installment thankfully remained dry while offering up what was, overall, a better line-up than on sunny Saturday (best performance of the weekend still goes to Bjork, however).

The list of bands I’d hoped to catch was double that of the day before, so a relatively early trip to the Toronto Islands was needed. After sifting through the first security line, then the ferry entrance line, then the ferry exit line, then the ticket line, then the second security line, I quickly made my way to catch the final few minutes of a side-stage performance from DD/MM/YYYY (Day Month Year). Their sound is an explosive mash, and the band members play musical chairs with instruments, but it all comes together in a delightful mess. The Toronto boys also have a great time, at one point urging the crowd to take back the “raise the roof” motion. “I can’t believe you guys just did that,” quipped the drummer/singer after a disquieting number of watchers joined in.

Crossing the river onto Olympic Island, the site of the festival’s main stage, brought the reggae-influenced Britpop sounds of Jamie T. While not necessarily my taste in music, the singer charmed the crowd to no end, bringing the audience interaction to one of the festival’s requisite English performances after Arctic Monkeys failed abysmally on Saturday.

Next came a set from Toronto’s very own Tokyo Police Club, a band that has enjoyed a huge surge of success, sure to continue growing after their recently inked deal with Saddle Creek Records. They played a tight set, received amazingly well by the cheering crowd, many of whom flooded toward the stage in the minutes before their set time.

With a lull in main-stage action, I headed back over to one of the side-stages for an uninspired set from Blonde Redhead. Not being familiar with much more than their name, I found the music largely ignorable; the most interesting aspect of the performance was a fake, stuffed horse that front-woman Kazu Makino used for a keyboard bench. This band likely translates better in a smaller, darker club, but falls flat outdoors in the daylight.

Right after, however, came a rejuvenating yet all-too-short performance from The Constantines. The band is well known for their amazing club shows, but they have no problem commanding a festival stage. With two new songs (plus the announcement that their next album will be released on Broken Social Scene-populated label Arts & Crafts), they tore through half an hour of tracks from all three of their LPs, including opener “Draw Us Lines,” “Nighttime/Anytime,” and closing pick “Young Lions.” Sadly, they inexplicably ended their set 40 minutes before the following band was scheduled to play, the notice of “last song” coming from somewhere offstage and seemingly catching the band by surprise.

Crossing the river again, I maneuvered through the insanely packed crowd. Since last year, a number of fenced-in areas had been added to the side of the main stage, completely congesting all areas with a decent view, when many had room for blankets (and breathing) last time. Next up was the night’s most anticipated performance, judging from audience excitement, with the Killers taking the penultimate slot. The first (and only) time I’d previously seen this band was at a small Toronto club, opening for Stellastarr, who still plays small clubs. Things have changed. Brandon Flowers is obviously a gifted front-man, but there is a distinct air of entitled arrogance that envelops the group. From the victory parade-like music of their video montage opening to Flowers’ glittery gold jacket, the whole performance is rather pompously over-the-top. The crowd digs it, though, and “Somebody Told Me” gets a bigger sing-a-long going than any other song on either day of the festival.

I didn’t stay long, though, as British band Editors was set to headline one of the side-stages. After another battle through the over-packed crowd, I found a fairly small gathering for the Joy Division-inspired group. Despite the frequent comparisons to Interpol, this band is an entirely different experience live. Unlike Interpol singer Paul Banks, Editors front-man Tom Smith is energetic and engaging, prodding the crowd for cheers, throwing kicks in the air, and generally showing a demeanor that definitely doesn’t find its way through the band’s dark, deep sound. The group seemed genuinely appreciative of the rousing response from the crowd (which grew as they played), and rewarded with a strong, sharp set of material from both The Back Room and An End Has a Start. This is definitely a rising group worth catching on a return visit.

To close the night and this year’s installment of Virgin Festival came Billy Corgan and his mostly non-original pack of Smashing Pumpkins (the reformed group features only Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlain from the band’s original lineup). The performance was the band’s second in Canada since regrouping (they played Montreal the night before), and rivaled the Killers in terms of anticipation. Opening with “United States” from their recent album Zeitgeist, the band sounded tight. Unfortunately, the song spun into an extended guitar solo featuring Hendrix-inspired renditions of both American and Canadian national anthems. It was a little much for early on in the set. Quickly adding to the disappointment was the lackluster performance of “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” that followed. Corgan sounded passionless compared with the song’s intense original version, despite the fact that it didn’t seem to be a slowed-down or otherwise reworked performance of the song. The band was quickly living up to the watered-down standards linked with so many reformed groups (though decades usually separate them from their heydays).

But the Pumpkins’ improved, and with a solid performance of “Tonight, Tonight,” plus blistering shots of “Zero” and current single “Tarantula,” the band proved that there is some grounds to justify their pseudo-reunion. Corgan’s interaction with the crowd was limited to the odd “thanks,” but he put a little more of himself out there for the audience with an acoustic, solo version of “1979″ that must’ve opened many a memory floodgate across the park. Closing their main set was another strong performance in “Heavy Metal Machine” from 2000’s Machina/The Machines of God, which Corgan amusingly transitioned into a cover of Canned Heat’s “On the Road Again.” Clever. After a short break, the band returned for a quick, one-song encore of “Today.” And while the second and final day of Toronto’s Virgin Festival 2007 may not have been the greatest ever, considering the crowds and the cloud-cover, it was pretty alright.

Killers Singer To Be A Dad

andPOP Staff — Fri, 11 May 2007 13:23:35 +0000

THE KILLERS frontman BRANDON FLOWERS’ wife Tana is reportedly pregnant with the couple’s first child.

The 25-year-old singer has yet to confirm the news, but friends insist they are expecting a baby boy.

The couple, who married in 2005, are due to become parents in July.

A pal says, “He’s smitten, especially because it’s a boy.”

Killers and Arctic Monkeys Dominate Brits

andPOP Staff — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 00:44:11 +0000

THE KILLERS and ARCTIC MONKEYS both emerged victorious at the Brit Awards tonight, picking up two prizes each.

The Killers walked away with Best International Group and Best International Album for SAM’S TOWN, while Arctic Monkeys took Best British Group and Best British Album for their debut WHATEVER PEOPLE SAY I AM, THAT’S WHAT I’M NOT.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE won Best International Male Solo Artist and JAMES MORRISON was a surprise win for Best British Male Solo Artist at the Earls Court ceremony in London.

Best International Female Solo Artist went to NELLY FURTADO, while AMY WINEHOUSE collected Best British Female Solo Artist.

Reformed boy band TAKE THAT’s comeback track PATIENCE won Best British Single.

OASIS were honoured with the Outstanding Contribution To Music accolade, which was presented to PAUL WELLER last year (06). Oasis ended the night with a three song set including CIGARETTES AND ALCOHOL and MORNING GLORY.

Among the acts who performed were RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS and SCISSOR SISTERS.

The full list of winners is:
Best British Live Act – MUSE
Best Breakthrough Act – THE FRATELLIS
Best International Breakthrough Act – ORSON
Best British Male Solo Artist – JAMES MORRISON
Best International Male Solo Artist – JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
Best British Female Solo Artist – AMY WINEHOUSE
Best International Female Solo Artist – NELLY FURTADO
Best British Group – ARCTIC MONKEYS
Best International Album – SAM’S TOWN by THE KILLERS
Best International Group – THE KILLERS
Best British Single – PATIENCE by TAKE THAT
Best British Album – WHATEVER PEOPLE SAY I AM, THAT’S WHAT I’M NOT by ARCTIC MONKEYS
Outstanding Contribution To Music – OASIS.

The Killers and Mariah Carey Join VMA Roster

andPOP Staff — Thu, 04 Aug 2005 20:46:34 +0000

If you’re fans of Mariah Carey and The Killers, you’re going to want to tune in to the MTV Video Music Awards, August 28th.

MTV announced Tuesday that the diva and alternative rock/pop artists are slated to perform at the VMAs.

They join the likes of Kayne West, Kelly Clarkson and Green Day.

The Killers nabbed four nominations for, “Mr. Brightside,” and Carey’s nominated for her soulful rendition, “We Belong Together.”

More details as to who will be performing at this year’s Video Music Awards show will be announced in the next couple of weeks.