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The Killers Reverently Cover U2’s ‘With Or Without You’ Live in London

The Killers cover U2's "With or Without You"

No, that’s not “Glycerine” the Killers are playing in the video above (via NME). Over the weekend, the Las Vegas arena rockers wrapped up the U.K. leg of their Battle Born tour with a bare-bones rendition of U2’s The Joshua Tree staple “With or Without You,” live at London’s O2 Arena. Bereft of the Edge’s effects-ringing guitar style, the version at first sounds a bit like any of the many, many similar four-chord wonders that have come since (sort of like how the Killers’ equally fine “Don’t Look Back in Anger” cover spends a long while resembling John Lennon’s “Imagine,” Oasis’ clear source material). But Brandon Flowers’ lofty, Roy Orbison-inflected vocal here serves as an unmistakable tribute to Bono. It’s an appropriately bold and impressive move — even though a big part of Flowers’ appeal is that he isn’t the kind of guy who’d change his name to a Latin phrase about how awesome he is at singing.

The Killers 2012-2013 North American tour dates:
November 29 – Broomfield, CO @ 1st Bank Center
November 30 – Orem, UT @ UCCU Center
December 3 – Vancouver, BC @ Pacific Coliseum
December 4 – Seattle, WA @ Deck the Hall Ball
December 5 – Portland, OR @ Theater of the Clouds at the Rose Garden
December 7 – San Diego, CA @ 91X WREX the Halls
December 8 – Oakland, CA @ Live 105’s Not So Silent Night
December 9 – Universal City, CA @ Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal CityWalk
December 13 – Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
December 14 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
December 15 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
December 17 – Boston, MA @ Agganis Arena
December 18 – Fairfax, VA @ Patriot Center
December 20 – Ypsilanti, MI @ EMU Convocation Center
December 21 – Chicago, IL @ UIC Pavilion
December 28 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Cosmopolitan
December 29 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Cosmopolitan