Review: The Killers downsize in a big way for First Ave underplay gig

Anytime a band that's big enough to pack a venue 10 times the size of First Avenue downsizes to Minneapolis' hallowed rock depot, it's a big deal. The Killers made it seem like an even grander gesture Thursday.

Set to headline the opening day of TC Summer Fest at Target Field on Friday, the Las Vegas rockers announced just a week ago they would squeeze in a warm-up set at the 1,500-person club the night before the ballpark bash. The $95 tickets were swooped up as fast as a grounder to first base.

Carrying on a cool tradition of acts choosing First Ave for so-called underplay gigs — predecessors include the Foo Fighters, Weezer, Coldplay and (most recently) Jason Isbell — the Killers stripped back on the glitzy production of last year's Xcel Energy Center concert and other recent tours to fit into the smaller venue. There were plenty of tradeoffs in return, though. They still brought their confetti guns, too.

It was actually the band's first time playing the First Ave Mainroom, though singer Brandon Flowers had been there twice on solo tours. The Killers also did squeeze into the adjacent 7th Street Entry on their first tour in 2004.

Performing in front of a lit-up letter "K" that looked like it came off an old Vegas Strip marquee, the group's flashy but ever-earnest frontman had a discernible gleam in his eye in the opening song "Sam's Town." That kid-in-a-candy-store look never went away as his band excitedly breezed through 19 tunes in 100 minutes.

Flowers' sly grin shined especially bright in the second song, which he introduced by saying, "[Sam's Town] was a nod to our hometown. Here's a nod to yours."

The band then lit into Prince's 1987 classic "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man," one of his most up-tempo and melodic rock anthems — a perfect choice for this crew.

That well-played cover was the first of several surprises for the superfans in attendance. You knew the crowd was packed with diehards based on how loudly they sang along to "This Is Your Life," a deep track from 2008 dropped early in the show. Later, the band dusted off a couple more sidelined 2000s-era cuts, "Bling (Confession of a King)" and "Under the Gun."

With Fond du Lac, Wis., native Ted Sablay very capably filling in again for the Killers' on/off co-founding guitarist Dave Keuning, the band showed no signs of needing a reboot despite being off the road since mid-May. Its two newish female backup singers were featured a little more prominently in the more intimate setting, especially in "Runaway Horses," a mellower and twangier highlight from one of the two albums the group issued during COVID lockdown, "Pressure Machine."

"If ever there was a record of ours made for a room this size, it was that one," Flowers said after another song off the most recent LP, the Springsteen-esque "Quiet Town."

The band's bigger and rowdier hits certainly fit the room fine, too. "Spaceman" and "Somebody Told Me" came early in the show, the latter turning the packed dancefloor into a tiled trampoline. "When You Were Young" and "All These Things That I've Done" came just before the encore, the latter's triumphant crescendo accompanied by blasts of confetti and streamers — so much of it that we'll likely still see bits and pieces falling from the old First Ave rafters during this year's Halloween dance party.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice," the still-smiling Flowers said before the megahit "Mr. Brightside," which closed the show. "We'll see you tomorrow."