Boston Calling: The Killers Storm Through Evening Finale

BOSTON, MA — However exhausted you may have felt at the end of the first day of Boston Calling, leave it to the Killers to give the entire place a second wind to end the night.

Like a person sprinting as quick as they can at the start of a distance race, the proud sons of Las Vegas started fast and didn't let up for the nearly 90-minute performance. The crowd was all in the moment the band walked on stage and played the first bars of "Mr. Brightside," followed by "Spaceman" and "Somebody Told Me."

The hometown pride was strong during the set. Lead singer Brandon Flows sported a blazer with sparkles on the lapel; at times, the state of Nevada appeared on screens behind them; Vegas Vic made an appearance during "The Man," and Flowers was sure to remind the crowd where they called home.

Flowers was a ball of energy for most of the show, only stopping for the more downtempo "A Dustland Fairytale," 53 minutes into their set.

Also of note was their cover of "American Girl," which included a mashup with "Free Fallin" towards the end.

The encore saw Flowers strut back on stage in an all-gold suit for "The Calling" and "When You Were Young."

Here what else we liked at day 1 of Boston Calling:

As by far the most political band of the day, Russian feminist punk rockers Pussy Riot showed why they won't be having dinner with in sync dances moves was like a bizarro world Eurovision performance with strong political ties and pleas to release Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, who is serving a 20-year sentence for terror charges that his supporters believe are bogus.

During the National's set, Matt Berninger's provided a low, but powerful voice in a sea of music, only stopping for the occasional anecdote about living in Boston or his uncle asking about Natalie Portman, who the band met about a decade ago.

Here's what we're looking forward to Saturday:

Jack White headlines day two but before that, we'll be checking out rapper Tyler, The Creator, Berklee product St. Vincent, and Rhode Island's own Belly.

Image Credit: Rob Loud