“Everybody gets a little nervous when their boss shows up for work, right?” frontman Brandon Flowers asked the crowd as The Killers wrapped up their show at Madison Square Garden last night, October 1. The band then brought out The Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen, who joined in for an epic 3-song encore.
Together, the two acts delved into their 2021 collaboration song “Dustland” (a take on The Killers’ “A Dustland Fairytale” from their 2008 album Day And Age) as well as a couple of Springsteen ’70s-era gems “Badlands” and “Born To Run,” according to Setlist.fm.
Making it even more special, the troupe was joined by saxophonist Jake Clemons, who is the nephew of late E Street Band member Clarence Clemons who played with Springsteen for 40 years until his passing in 2011.
The Killers are currently on tour to support their albums Imploding The Mirage (2020) and Pressure Machine (2021) and have been pulling out a who’s who of special guests along the way.
In addition to Springsteen for their second of two shows at Madison Square Garden, the band has been joined by their tour opener, guitarist Johnny Marr, for epic takes on his material with The Smiths, such as “This Charming Man.” The Las Vegas rock act also previously recruited Lindsey Buckingham earlier in the trek for a special Fleetwood Mac cover of “Go Your Own Way.”
The mutual love fest of Springsteen and The Killers is no secret. The Killers have often cited The Boss as influential on their work while Springsteen had Flowers on his “Letters To You Radio” show a couple years back, with the elder calling The Killers a “hell of a band,” according to NME. The two musical acts also previously took the stage together in 2009 at the Pinkpop Festival in the Netherlands.
Springsteen has been making a ton of cameos lately, previously appearing on stage with Paul McCartney and Coldplay this year. In October 2021, he also wrapped up a four-month stint on Broadway at New York’s St. James Theatre.
Springsteen and The E Street Band are set to embark on a massive 2023 world arena tour kicking off in February, though skyrocketing ticket prices at the hands of Ticketmaster’s “dynamic pricing” tactics have drawn the ire of a number of fans. Last month, New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell Jr. wrote to Ticketmaster, demanding more transparency for its pricing structure. You can find tickets to the tour here.
See videos below of Bruce Springsteen joining The Killers onstage at Madison Square Garden. The Killers tour continues through October 10.