June 18--Brandon Flowers is standing on top of a chair in a tuxedo singing an acoustic version of "Read My Mind" inside a crowded Wrigley Field club room normally reserved for Cubs season ticket holders. In front of him are 50 or so wet fans who waited for The Killers' frontman in a parking lot across from the ballpark before Monday's set was moved inside due to the pouring rain. No microphone. No keyboard. No Killers bandmates. Just Flowers and two acoustic guitarists.
The whole thing looks kind of odd -- that is, if you can see all of it. Those in the back of the narrow room likely only see Flowers when he occasionally stands on the chair.
And yet, few would likely leave the free show, sponsored by Las Vegas' "Vegas Season" tourism campaign, disappointed, judging by the number of fans singing along to the songs. When else do you get to experience the lead singer of one of the world's most popular rock bands like this?
"It would be cooler if I played guitar," Flowers says in the middle of the five-song acoustic set, adding that he usually has a microphone stand to hide behind. "I feel naked."
After the performance, the Las Vegas native -- now sitting on white leather seats inside the gold-plated "Vegas Season" bus -- tells me the experience reminded him of a time when he hung out with Elton John at a Prince show. He says it so casually, one can assume this isn't out of the norm for Flowers.
"It was at Rio (All-Suite Hotel and Casino) in Las Vegas," says Flowers, pausing to proudly nudge the "Vegas Season" publicist sitting across from him. "Prince asked Elton to sing 'The Long and Winding Road,' the great Beatles song. Elton came out for the encore with no piano and just stood there at the mic and sang 'The Long and Winding Road.' It was beautiful, but I noticed he usually is sitting at a piano and was bare. And that's sort of how I felt today without a microphone and a microphone stand."
Flowers has said in interviews that performing onstage didn't come naturally to him. It wasn't until a few years ago that he truly felt comfortable with it. He called Monday's set one of the more unique performances of his career. Unlike other artists, Flowers says he doesn't do the odd birthday party or bar mitzvah gig.
"You couldn't pay me enough to do a bar mitzvah," Flowers says before backtracking slightly. "I don't think. Maybe you could. I just don't know if I'd be very comfortable doing it."
Speaking of discomfort, Flowers was offered the opportunity to throw out the first pitch before Monday's Cubs-Cleveland Indians game but declined because of shoulder issues he blames on golf and bad posture. The married father of three boys says he can't throw the football around with his kids because of it, which has been frustrating for him. Flowers did, however, agree to sing the seventh-inning stretch, but the game was rescheduled due to the weather. He says he is confident he would have nailed the song -- and wouldn't have needed the lyrics sheet.
"Have people messed that up?" Flowers asks innocently, unaware that Chicagoans still haven't forgotten when Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne butchered the anthem at Wrigley Field in 2003. "I wouldn't have messed it up."
In May, Flowers released his second solo album, "The Desired Effect," which features the single "Can't Deny My Love." And no, The Killers haven't broken up. They're scheduled to perform Sunday at Firefly music festival in Delaware. Flowers has said his bandmates wanted to take some time off after their last tour, so he used the opportunity to record a follow-up to his 2010 solo album, "Flamingo." The new album has been well-received by critics, with Rolling Stone calling it "the best straight-up pop album made by a rock star in recent memory."
"I'm not ashamed of being a pop tart," Flowers says of the pop label. "It's always a part of what I do and who I am. When I was growing up, I was crazy about The Smiths and Morrissey. And he referred to do what he did as pop. It never seemed like a dirty word to me because of that."
Asked if there are any current pop acts he enjoys, Flowers says he listens to them on the radio but is unable to come up with any names. I suggest the first name that comes to mind: "Taylor Swift?"
"Yeah. What was the one 'James Dean look in your eyes' song?' Flowers says. He doesn't know the name of the song ("Style"), but he knows the words and quietly sings a line from the chorus. "'Look in your eyes ...' Anyway."
Flowers is scheduled to return to Chicago at the end of the summer to perform sans The Killers on Sept. 11 at the Riviera Theatre. He has fond memories of performing in the city, particularly at Lollapalooza. The band has twice headlined the Grant Park music festival.
"(Lollapalooza in 2009) was one of the greatest festival experiences we've ever had," Flowers says. "To have that happen in America is saying something, because the way they experience live music over in Europe and South America is totally different and way more passionate. And so to have that happen on our home soil is really great. I still remember (singing) 'When You Were Young.' It felt like I was in the Beatles or something."
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