The Day & Age World Tour was the third major concert tour by American rock band the Killers. The tour took place between 2008 and 2010 in support of the band's third studio album Day & Age, released in November 2008.[1] The tour started on October 20, 2008 at the House of Blues on the Las Vegas Strip, and ended on February 21, 2010 at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, playing over 100 shows in just over a year.[2][3][4] The Day & Age World Tour saw the Killers' record their first live album, Live from the Royal Albert Hall, at the Royal Albert Hall in London during their third European leg of the tour, as well as the band's first performances in Africa in December 2009.[5][6]
The Day & Age World Tour started with a string of "warm-up shows" at smaller, intimate venues in North America and Europe throughout late 2008, including a headlining date at the Royal Albert Hall in November, and three Christmas festivals in December.[7] Tickets for the shows went on sale in late September and quickly sold out.[8][9][10] The tour proper was announced on October 28, 2008, with three planned legs for the tour having tickets released on the same day.[11][12]
The first "warm-up show" of the Day & Age World Tour took place at the House of Blues in Las Vegas on October 20, 2008, with songs such as "Human", "Losing Touch", and "Joy Ride" had their full-concert live debut at the show, while songs "Spaceman" and "Neon Tiger" had their live debuts at a fan-club only show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York four months prior.[13][14][15] The band played ten more warm-up shows from October to December, including Christmas festivals Deck the Hall Ball on December 9, Not So Silent Night on December 11, and Almost Acoustic Christmas on December 14.[16][17][18]
Frontman Brandon Flowers performing on the Day & Age World Tour in February 2009.
The Day & Age World Tour proper began on January 16, 2009 at the Fox Theatre in Boulder, Colorado, with the live debut of songs such as "A Dustland Fairytale", "The World We Live In", and "This is Your Life".[19] The first North American leg of the tour lasted throughout January and early February with French electric group M83 opening for the band.[20]
The band then embarked on the first European leg of the tour, with Louis XIV opening for the Killers, only in the United Kingdom and Ireland, whose tickets sold out in less than a day in October.[21] The leg started with a performance at the War Child beneficiary concert alongside Coldplay and lasted throughout February and March. The Killers and Louis XIV continued around mainland Europe throughout March as a part of the second European leg.[22][23][24]
The Killers headlined the V Festival around different parts of Australia as a part of the four-day festival in March and April, celebrating guitarist Dave Keuning's birthday on the first day of the festival.[25] The band then returned to North America in April and May, headling the Coachella Festival in mid-April, with Wild Light and Chairlift opening for the band on other dates.[26]
The Killers' played their first shows on the continent of Africa in early December, performing in Johannesburg and Cape Town, joined by Zebra & Giraffe as the opener,[35][36][37] as well as their first show in the UAE in Abu Dhabi on December 8.[38] The remainder of the shows planned for Asia and Oceania leg of the tour in early 2010, including places like Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, Manila and Seoul, were cancelled due to the passing of frontman Brandon Flowers' mother.[39][40] However, the band still performed at the Good Vibrations Festival in eastern Australia in late February 2010, bringing the Day & Age World Tour to a close.[41][42]
The Killers' performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London on July 5 and 6, 2009 was filmed and recorded for their first and only live album, Live from the Royal Albert Hall. The DVD release features a mix of recordings of songs from July 5 and 6, as well as footage from several festivals the band headlined in the summer of 2009.[48] The CD included alongside the release of the DVD only features a select number of songs performed at the Hall, without the bonus festival footage.[49]Live from the Royal Albert Hall was released on CD and DVD in the UK on November 9, 2009 and the following day in the US.[50]
Reception
The Day & Age World Tour garnered positive reviews from critics. Rolling Stone magazine reviewed the Killers' second warm up show of the tour, stating: "Friday's concert served dual purposes, to run briskly through the group’s catalog and to offer a preview of songs from their forthcoming Day & Age. At both ends, they succeeded."[51]MusicRadar praised one of the band's warm-up shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London, praising them for the fact that "most groups can't even envision, let alone pull off, combining the epic, emotional vistas of Bruce Springsteen with the detached, cool aesthetics of New Order, but [...] The Killers have digested both elements completely and distill them into a style that is uniquely their own."[52]The Minnesota Star Tribune reviewed the show at Northrop Auditorium, proclaiming that "whether buoyant or bracing, the Killers' music was a wall-of-sound assault, sometimes majestic, occasionally swirling, often intense and always loud."[53]
The Killers performing in Barcelona in March 2009.
MIT newspaper The Tech assessed a show at the Agganis Arena, praising the Killers for their "dynamic stage presence that stirred the crowd. The songs performed live were just as polished as the recorded ones. Unlike many major label bands, the Killers' music isn't smoke and mirrors. They have real talent," while Clevescene reviewed the show at Time Warner Cable Amphitheater, commenting "when the biggest baddest light show and stage set is matched with a truly empowering performance, the results can be truly spectacular, like they were at last night’s Killers concert."[54][55]The Independent reviewed the show at the Royal Albert Hall in July, declaring that The Killers "might not be the coolest band in the world, but Flowers needn't have worried, there's not a hint of shame in this crowd. From the bubbling, pulsing first beats of "Human", they are on their feet, chanting the nonsensical chorus with heartfelt zeal."[56]The Guardian called the Killers' performance at Hard Rock Calling a time "when you want nothing more complicated than to sing along to hard, glittering tunes such as "Somebody Told Me", "Mr Brightside" and "Human" - this was one of them".[57]Clash Music attended the Killers' performance at the V Festival in 2009, commenting: "Taking to the stage at V Festival’s Staffordshire site, The Killers were on jubilant form. Lead singer Brandon Flowers wore a sparkling black jacket, with the group delving into their golden run of hits to send the crowd into rapture".[58]
↑Interviews, Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews &; Murray, Robin (2009-08-24). "The Killers Close V Festival". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved 2025-11-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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