By Lexi Lane
The T-Mobile Arena kicked off its opening night with a bang on Wednesday April 6 with performances by Shamir, Wayne Newton, and the homegrown headlining band, The Killers.
Wayne Newton, also known as Mr. Las Vegas, played the piano and sang a few songs, mainly to cater to the older crowd at the venue. In an audience filled with teens and twenty-somethings, they had a hard time connecting to his style and unfamiliar songs despite his enthusiasm.
Rising Vegas artist, Shamir made things a bit more interesting and fun as he played a few of his hip-hop and jazz influenced songs from his debut album ‘Ratchet’ and put on a great show.
However, the night was a blast once the headliners came on, and the crowd’s energy boomed. The Killers, consisting of Brandon Flowers, Ronnie Vannucci, Mark Stoermer, and Dave Keuning, played popular songs including “Mr. Brightside” and “Somebody Told Me” from their 2004 debut album Hot Fuss; as well as other songs from their albums “Battle Born” and “Sawdust,” including “A Dustland Fairytale” and “The Way It Was.” Flowers also performed a brilliant acoustic rendition of “Can’t Help Falling In Love” as the audience lit up the dark arena with phone flashlights and sang along.
During their concert, the Blue Man Group surprised the audience by helping drum during “Human” and Imagine Dragons joined the band during their performance to sing a duet on “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine.”
It was an amazing concert, with great sound projection that echoed through the whole stadium and stage production that was easily visible. There were also screens to each side of the stage that displayed a large view of the band performing in black and white and emotional fans in the audience.
The Killers were the perfect openers, considering their dedication to the city and electric sound, and they did not disappoint. The night ended with fireworks, confetti, and balloons falling into the crowd causing a fun frenzy while “Viva Las Vegas” closed the show out, as everyone danced and sang along.
