The Killers Left an Indelible Mark on the Fans at Ohana Fest 2023 in Dana Point, CA

The Killers headlines Ohana Fest 2023 in Dana Point, CA - Popbuff.com — Brandon Flowers vocalist and the band captivated the audience

When I heard The Killers were headlining Ohana Festival, the decision to see one of my favorite alt rock bands was a no brainer. The Killers performed on the first day of Ohana Festival on September 29 at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, CA. It was my first time to go to the fest and I was blown away on how organized it was. As I was being dropped off, I saw a crowd walking from Pacific Coast Highway to Dana Point Harbor to Park Lantern. As you enter, you’ll see some spots where fest goers can take some photo-ops. There was even an event attendant present to help take photos of you or your group. There were a lot of food choices but I suggest to come earlier because it takes about an hour to wait. By the time you get your food, you already lost a good spot to see the show.

On stage, you’ll see a big letter K led marquee. At 9:00, the Killers were about to commence. Killers opened their set with “Mr. Brightside”. Fans of all ages were singing their lungs to all lyrics and excited to have a great time. Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) wore all black – a slim fit blazer, a black dress shirt underneath and black pants (his trademark).

After the second song “Spaceman”. Flowers asked the crowd, “Is it early to blow your minds?” The crowd said “No” and Flowers followed with “Are you sure? It’s only September but Christmas is coming early for everybody. Eddie Vedder is gonna come out and do a song with us.” The audience applaud. Eddie Vedder came out on the stage wearing all black with a white hat and did a shout out to a fan and pointed out to a specific direction, “When we started the day at 12:30 this afternoon, the black “Killers” shirt right there …..he’s been waiting. This next song is for him.” Flowers shouted “This is for you!” Flowers and Vedder sang a cover of the “The Waiting” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Following “The Waiting” was “Jenny was a Friend of Mine” then “Smile Like You Mean It”. As the throng of fans singing along the intro, Flowers stopped the song due to an incident from the crowd. He was concerned if the fan was ok. He said, “Just give it one minute.” While waiting if the fan was all right and not to keep the atmosphere silent, Flowers mentioned, “I tell you, we’ve had the luxury of singing with some of our favorite singers and performed with them. And it was amazing to share the stage with Eddie Vedder tonight. One little treat that we have that you don’t is we got to practice it with Eddie backstage and that was something that we gonna keep in our pocket for a long time. The magnificent presence that he has, the voice that has been with us for a long time and this festival …. he is just the man.” Flowers went back to talk about the fan if he/she was doing fine, “I hope everybody is ok over here. We’re getting thumbs up. We are gonna start from verse two of “Smile Like You Mean It.” And the crowd went back to dancing and singing along word for word.

At the start of “Shot at the Night” the backdrop showed the video of talented backup singers as Flowers showcased his voice in a high pitch manner. After “Shot at the Night”, Flowers followed it with “Human”. The stage lighting turned blue and robot sound effects spoke what was on the backdrop of the stage such as “Angelic Minds”, “Simple Human Race”, “Forming Nature”, “Traveling Through Space”, “Are we Human”, then the words got bigger with these three words: “Human” then “Ohana” then “Noise”. As Flowers started to sing “Human” the backdrop showed more than 50 frames of individuals. I thought that was pretty dope and the crowd started to sing in chorus.

After the song “Human”, Flowers remarked, “So rude of me, I forgot to mention, we are The Killers and we brought to you tonight by way of fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada” and the backdrop screen showed the famous iconic sign “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada”. Then they launched into “Somebody Told Me” accompanied with sky green laser which brought the crowd into more jumping and bouncing, and singing including me. “Somebody Told Me” is my absolute favorite among all ‘Killers songs.

Before Flower started to sing “For Reasons Unknown” he started to admire his band members. At one point of the show, Flowers also introduced their new single, “Your Side of Town”. It was well received by the crowd. I thought the intro is similar to the ’80s song “It’s Sin” by the synth pop duo Pet Shop Boys. The lyrics of “Your Side of Town” were displayed on stage so people sang along and the tune was easy to follow.

Flowers walked down on the lower level of the stage and brought the band’s guitar player and did a little intro “You know festivals are a party. There should be enough room left for a little bit of sentimentality, a little bit of love, a little romance.” And started to belt out
Out where the dreams all hide
Out where the wind don’t blow

“Runaways” followed “A Dustland Fairytale” then the hit “Read my Mind” which was listed as number 12 on Rolling Stone’s 100 Best Song of 2006. The backdrop says “Can you read my mind?” with some animation. The crowd started to sing in chorus again. “Caution” song followed then one of my favorites “All These Things That I’ve Done” in which the fans started to jump and shouted “I got soul but I’m not a soldier”.

Encore
During the encore, Brandon asked the crowd, “Is it too late to blow your minds again? It might keep you up!” Then he introduced Sammy Hagar. The two powerhouses rocked the stage with the song “Why Can’t This Be Love”. Together they blended perfectly with a good rock and roll tune. At 75, Hagar is still going strong, can still hit those notes and the dance moves he did on stage showed he still got it.

Killers closed the show with “When You Were Young”. Fans were ecstatic about The Killers performance, just had to look at the audience to understand. Flowers moved around on the stage a lot to give fans a fair view of him. The Killers music enhanced my mood and made me happy after listening to them for about 80 minutes. I love the high-octane energy the band puts into their performance. It was a masterful evening of alternative rock music where they left an indelible mark on the fans.

Setlist