The Hot Fuss Tour was the first headlining
concert tour
A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...
by American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
The Killers
The Killers are an American rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingd ...
. It took place between 2003 and 2005 to support the band's first studio album, ''
Hot Fuss
''Hot Fuss'' is the debut studio album by American rock band the Killers, released on June 7, 2004, in the United Kingdom and on June 15, 2004, in the United States by Island Records. The album is mostly influenced by new wave music and post-p ...
'', which was released in June 2004. The tour was enduring with the band playing well over 300 shows in a two-year period.
Synopsis
In late 2003, shortly after being signed by UK independent record label
Lizard King and a successful string of performances in London, The Killers announced that they would be touring the UK supporting
British Sea Power
Command of the sea (also called control of the sea or sea control) is a naval military concept regarding the strength of a particular navy to a specific naval area it controls. A navy has command of the sea when it is so strong that its rivals ...
. During the first half of 2004 they continued playing support slots; opening for
Stellastarr
Stellastarr (styled as stellastarr*) was an American indie rock band based in New York City. Its members were Shawn Christensen (vocals, rhythm guitar), Amanda Tannen (bass, vocals), Arthur Kremer (drums, percussion, keyboards), and Michael Jurin ...
on both their UK and US tours and
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...
on two dates in the US. They also made appearances at
South by Southwest
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...
&
Coachella Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. I ...
.
The band began their first ever headline tour in
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
, England on May 23, 2004; Initially the band were headlining small venues which held no more than 1,000 people, by the end of the tour they were regularly selling out venues with capacities of over 5,000.
The band supported by
Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 2000 as Parva, releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their current name that same year. Since their formation the band h ...
,
Bloc Party
Bloc Party are an English Rock music, rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Loui ...
&
The Futureheads
The Futureheads are an English post-punk band from Sunderland, formed in 2000. The band consists of Ross Millard (vocals and guitar), David "Jaff" Craig (vocals and bass guitar) and brothers Barry Hyde (vocals and guitar) and Dave Hyde (drums). ...
headlined the
NME Awards Tour
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
in early 2005 and also supported
U2 on three stadium dates of their
Vertigo Tour
The Vertigo Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 2004 album ''How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'', the tour visited arenas and stadiums between March 2005 and December 2006. The Vertigo Tour ...
.
The Killers were joined by British Sea Power for the final leg in North America; bringing the tour full circle, the final show took place in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, British Columbia, Canada on October 13, 2005. In total they played 305 shows spanning four continents and eighteen different countries.
Support acts during the tour included
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Vers ...
,
Surferosa,
The Departure
The Departure was an English rock band from Northampton, formed in October 2003. Their debut album, '' Dirty Words'', was released 13 June 2005 by Parlophone. A second album, ''Inventions'', was expected to be released in early 2008, but was no ...
,
Ambulance LTD
Ambulance LTD was an indie rock group formed in Spanish Harlem, New York City in 2000. The band was founded by Michael Di Liberto and David Longstreth from Cleveland OH. Marcus Congleton joined about a year later and continued on with their name a ...
,
Blood Arm
The Blood Arm are an American five-piece rock band from Los Angeles, California, currently residing in Berlin, Germany. At present, they have released five albums. Their music has been likened to " James Brown fronting Talking Heads and singing ...
,
The Zutons
The Zutons are an English indie rock band, formed in 2001 in Liverpool. The band are currently composed of singer, songwriter and guitarist Dave McCabe, drummer Sean Payne and saxophonist Abi Harding.
They released their debut album, '' Who Ki ...
&
Tegan & Sara
Tegan and Sara () are a Canadian indie pop duo formed in 1998 in Calgary, Alberta. The band is led by identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin (born September 19, 1980). Both musicians are songwriters and multi-instrumental ...
.
Stage setup
Frontman and keyboardist Brandon Flowers emblazoned his keyboard stand with
rhinestones
A rhinestone, paste or diamante is a diamond simulant originally made from rock crystal but since the 19th century from Lead glass, crystal glass or polymers such as Polymethyl methacrylate, acrylic.
Original
Originally, rhinestones were r ...
after learning that
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
was coming to one of the band's shows at
Irving Plaza
Irving Plaza (known through sponsorship as Irving Plaza, powered by Klipsch and formerly known as the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza) is a ballroom-style music venue located within the Union Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. ...
in New York City, this started a tradition of Flowers' keyboard stands being decorated differently for each tour.
Festivals
The Killers played a number of well received festival sets in the summer of 2004, among these was a performance in the New Bands Tent at
Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
. The following year the band were offered the chance by
Michael Eavis
Athelstan Joseph Michael Eavis (born 17 October 1935) is an English dairy farmer and the co-creator of the Glastonbury Festival, which takes place at his farm in Pilton, Somerset.
Personal life
Eavis was born in Pilton, Somerset and grew up ...
to headline the Sunday night of Glastonbury after original headliner
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
was diagnosed with breast cancer. They declined the offer however, stating that they did not feel they had earned the right to headline the festival yet and instead went on to play in their scheduled sub-headline slot on the Friday night. Despite almost losing guitarist Dave Keuning whilst travelling there (after the band 'accidentally' left him at
Fleet services
Fleet Services is a motorway service station on the M3 near Fleet. It is owned by Welcome Break.
History
Opened in 1973, it was originally built in a Scandinavian style and in 1992 won Loo of the Year Award. Before 2001, when Winchester servi ...
.) the performance was praised by many.
Live 8
On July 2, 2005, The Killers performed on the
London stage of the Live 8 concert, performing "
All These Things That I've Done". The band (all dressed in white) were joined by a
gospel choir
Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...
. Later that day
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...
incorporated the song's refrain "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier" into his own performance.
Personnel
*
Brandon Flowers
Brandon Richard Flowers (born June 21, 1981) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and philanthropist, best known as the lead singer, keyboardist, and occasional bassist of the Las Vegas-based rock band the Killers.
In addition to his w ...
– lead vocals, keyboards
*
Dave Keuning
David Brent Keuning (born March 28, 1976) is an American musician, best known for his role as the lead guitarist of the rock band The Killers, which he founded alongside Brandon Flowers in 2001 and with whom he has recorded six studio albums. Ke ...
– guitar, background vocals
*
Mark Stoermer
Mark August Stoermer (born June 28, 1977) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the bassist for the rock band the Killers, with whom he has recorded six studio albums.
In addition to his work with the Killers, Stoermer has ...
– bass, background vocals
*
Ronnie Vannucci Jr. – drums, percussion, background vocals, keyboards (on "Everything Will Be Alright")
Set list
Sample setlists
Notes
*1 "Where is She (Soft Surrender)" was a new song performed by the band, as of 2021 a studio version has yet to be released.
*2 "On Top" with
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
's "Time" segued on to the end of it.
*3 "All The Pretty Faces" was a new song performed by the band, it went on to be released as a b-side to "
When You Were Young
"When You Were Young" is a song by American rock band the Killers. It was released on September 18, 2006, as the lead single from their second studio album, ''Sam's Town'' (2006). The song was written and produced by The Killers and co-produced b ...
" and also appeared on 2007's compilation album ''
Sawdust
Sawdust (or wood dust) is a by-product or waste product of woodworking operations such as sawing, sanding, milling, planing, and routing. It is composed of small chippings of wood. These operations can be performed by woodworking machinery, ...
'' and ''
Guitar Hero 5
''Guitar Hero 5'' (initially referred to as ''Guitar Hero V'') is a 2009 Music video game, music rhythm game, rhythm video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the fifth main installment in the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar He ...
''.
Tour dates
TV
;Notable television performances
References
{{The Killers
2004 concert tours
2005 concert tours
The Killers concert tours