The Colosseum at Caesars Palace was built to withstand the roof-raising power of Celine Dion and other acclaimed performers in its time. But weathering a live rendition of “Mr. Brightside” is another matter entirely. 

Under sprays of confetti and glitzy signage shaped in the image of the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, The Killers barreled through the most popular Hot Fuss track, commemorating night two of its sold-out Strip residency, a historic occasion for the Vegas-bred band that started as a group of unknowns in 2001. 

“I came here from a quiet town in Utah when I was just 16 years old. I had big dreams working as a busboy right here at Caesars Palace, and I bet my life on three men who I hardly knew,” said frontman Brandon Flowers. “Some people come to Vegas and they lose everything, that’s just the way it goes. But let tonight serve as a reminder—sometimes it goes the other way, too.” 

For the first time in years, fans saw The Killers’ original core four reunite, after guitarist Dave Keuning and bassist Mark Stoermer stepped away from their touring posts in 2016 and 2017. Dusting off the iconic debut that built a runway for their success, The Killers emerged as spirited as when they were young. Flowers refused to stay still, exhibiting the agility of a man touched by the holy ghosts of Vegas showmen who came before. He hopped up on a raised stage platform, a pulpit for his fiery, if not frenzied, performance of “Somebody Told Me” and “All These Things That I’ve Done.” 

Fans responded in kind, parroting back the bridge, nearly outmatching the grandiose gospel vocals assigned to the live trio onstage. The rest of the band appeared just as alight, especially Keuning, who paced the floor with his guitar, relishing in his rockstar era with nimbly executed solos and a smile plastered across his face. 

Those performances, while great, also felt strangely siloed. Flowers attempted to drum up some camaraderie by telling stories about the band, but their disjointment came off glaringly obvious in certain scenarios. Timing on “All These Things,” for instance, sounded too sped up, with Flowers shouting through his lyrics instead of actually singing them. It’s very possible the band might still be breaking the ice, having not performed as a unit in a while. They seemed to fall in line on moodier cuts like “Andy, You’re a Star” and “Midnight Show,” where Flowers’ full timber noticeably shined, carrying us into the latter parts of Hot Fuss and the epic, catalog-spanning encore finale.  

“You feel that?” Flowers asked, as the room began to rumble with applause. 

The band launched into Sam’s Town favorite “Read My Mind,” thrusting the crowd into a perpetual sing-along that didn’t fully let up until “Dustland Fairytale,” a track Flowers prefaced with a story about his late mother. 

“She's gone now but she made sure to give me enough light to get me where I needed to go,” he said, before joining Keuning for a side-by-side finale of the song, tapering it off under a single spotlight. 

Grounded by the intimacy of those moments, The Killers carried on like a powder keg, more present and alive than ever on the show closer, “When You Were Young.” 

By the end of it, Flowers looked spent, chest heaving, his Nevada state pendant dangling. And with one final comment, the frontman gazed up into the crowd and proclaimed, “When we were young, we dreamed about this.” 

The Killers August 21, 23, 24, 28, 30, 31 & September 1, 8 p.m., the Colosseum, ticketmaster.com.