The rock group performed their biggest hits and made one young drummer’s dream come true

Brandon Flowers of The Killers Image Credit: Rob Loud

The Killers brought their rock ‘n roll edge to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after-race concerts on Sunday evening at du Arena, wrapping up four days of high-profile electronic, rap and pop gigs with their high-energy hits spanning a decade and a half.

Led by frontman Brendon Flowers, the Las Vegas rock group opened their set with crowd-pleaser ‘Jenny Was a Friend of Mine’, which, despite never being released as a single, is still one of the band’s most acclaimed and beloved tracks. ‘Spaceman’ followed, the second single off of their third studio album, Day & Age.

The synth pop outfit continued to work their way through some of their biggest tunes, eliciting singalongs from the crowd with tracks such as ‘Somebody Told Me’, ‘Smile Like You Mean It’ and ‘Runaway’.

Brandon Flowers of The Killers Image Credit: Rob Loud

One lucky fan got more than he bargained for when Flowers plucked him out of the audience and thrust him behind the drum set. Young drummer Ash got to show off his chops to a full arena, later remarking that he “couldn’t even remember what happened on stage.”

‘When We Were Young’ followed; the band also performed ‘Human’, home to their famed lyric ‘are we human or are we dancers?’

They closed their set with one of their best-selling and most widely recognised singles, ‘Mr Brightside’.

The Killers are considered one of the biggest rock bands of the century. The band formed nearly 20 years ago in 2001 — their name is taken from a drum set played by a fake band in the music video for New Order’s song Crystal.

The group have released five chart-topping LPs, starting with their five-time Grammy-nominated debut album Hot Fuss in 2004.

They took a break of more than a year in 2010, focusing on solo work. By 2013, they dropped their greatest hits album, Direct Hits.

Brandon Flowers of The Killers Image Credit: Rob Loud

Opening for the Killers, home-grown electronic duo Hollaphonic warmed up the crowd. Earlier at the The Village, the newly named Emerging Talent Competition (ETC) winner Xenai, a Bahrain-raised hip hop artist, took the stage to perform.

The Sunday evening concert wrapped up four days of performances by the likes of Lana Del Rey and DJ Marshmello.

Rappers Future and Gucci Mane stepped in to replace Travis Scott on the Yasalam bill; Scott had cancelled his appearance days before he was scheduled to take the stage.

Also at the Yas Marina Circuit, racegoers watched an Etihad Airways and Fursan Al Emarat fly past, shortly before the kick-off of the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2019.

Just before 5pm, Etihad Airways’ Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and Airbus A380 led the aerial parade over Yas Marina Circuit’s start line.

The showcase involved Eithad Airways’ two aircraft and Fursan El Amarat’s seven Aermacchi MB-339A fast jets flying at 400km per hour at 800 feet above the start and finish line.