The Killers Edinburgh: Brilliant setlist gets audience at Royal Highland Centre singing and dancing

The show seemed to be a big hit with everyone there

Having seen The Killers perform live twice before, I thought I knew pretty much what to expect from their first Edinburgh concert at the Royal Highland Centre. But when the opening number turned out to be Mr Brightside – a song I thought was a dead cert to close the show – I knew it wasn’t quite going to be as predictable as I, or anyone, had expected.

From the very start, the band made their first show in the Capital feel like a real occasion, having played hit after hit. Following their biggest single, they went straight into Spaceman, Jenny Was a Friend of Mine and Smile Like You Mean It, catering to both their biggest fans and those who may not know the band quite as well.

And even those who didn’t know lesser known tracks such as Shot at the Night and Run for Cover, which came next, didn’t have to wait long to hear old favourites like Human and Somebody Told Me.

The Killers had the audience in the palm of their hands during their Edinburgh concert at the Royal Highland Centre

The latter, which frontman Brandon Flowers said was a tribute to Las Vegas, from where the band hail, was followed by a brilliant cover of The Waterboys’ The Whole of the Moon – a tribute, Flowers said, to Edinburgh, the lead singer Mike Scott’s hometown.

And if the audience hadn’t already been won over, that was the sure thing to do it. Everyone had their hands in the air – or around the person next to them – belting out every lyric.

The second half of the show saw a similar mix of hit singles and album tracks, with Runaway Horses, Dying Breed and Caution having been inserted between Runaways, Read My Mind and, lastly, All These Things That I’ve Done. The band then left the stage to get ready for their encore, and even that came with a few surprises.

After performing The Man, the band was joined on stage by Johnny Marr, the support act and former guitarist of The Smiths, for a rendition of The Smiths’ This Charming Man. He then stayed on stage as the band ended the show on a high with When You Were Young.

The Killers performed their first Edinburgh show at the Royal Highland Centre

The Killers really seemed to go the extra mile for their Edinburgh concert, with the setlist having been totally different to their one at Reading and Leeds. The small details – such as The Waterboys cover – had the audience hanging on Brandon Flowers’ every word and from the very beginning, the atmosphere was brilliant with everyone singing and dancing along to every track.

At one point in the show, Flowers turned to the audience and said: “This is our first time in Edinburgh, can you believe it?” After that show, I think everyone in the crowd is now hoping the band won’t wait too long before returning to the Capital.