Flowers shows he’s more than a Las Vegas rock star in Wynn premiere

As Brandon Flowers told his adoring crowd at his premiere at Encore Theater on Monday night, he’s been introducing himself as a rock star from Las Vegas for the past 25 years. His sense of the city’s panache and showmanship is one of the primary reasons we’ve been so fond of him over that quarter century.

As the 45-year-old rocker says, “You wear the mask long enough, and it becomes your face.”

But Flowers has slipped into his alter-ego for his two-night Encore swing, donning a rugged black Western cut suit with a turquoise-and-silver bolo tie. Comfortably assuming the mantra of a seasoned country front man, Flowers tapped into his childhood years in northern Utah in “Thrasher.”

The new album borrows from Flowers’ days in Nephi, Utah, where he lived from ages 8 to 18. He once said that if it weren’t for advances in automotive technology, the Nephi in the ’90s could have passed for a small town in the ’50s.

Flowers showed from the start this would be a dual-citizenship, Vegas-Nephi experience. He opened with anthem “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” from his 2006 solo effort “Flamingo,” where as he and the crowd called out, “Didn’t nobody tell you the house will always win?”

For “Paradise,” he explained that the Strip is not in Las Vegas, but rather in the unincoporated town of Paradise. When Flowers mentions his cousin who parks cars at Luxor, the song’s lyric resonates, “I’m parking some white sedan/While the owner tries his hand rolling dice/It’s just another day in Paradise.”

Flowers then rode range in Utah with newly released “Thrasher” gems “Does It Ever Cross Your Mind,” “Plans,” “Miss America” and “American Dream.” The latter song is the walk-off to the live show and the aching closer of “Thrasher.”

The kinship of the “Thrasher” experience was spread across the stage with Flowers’ musically symbiotic backing band (all players listed below).

Flowers shared that he often picked up dinner for the family at Lucille’s at the District at Green Valley Ranch. The person who delivered those orders, Brady Henrie, is now in his band, the pedal-steel guitarist. Flowers had such fun reciting that story he had to be reminded to actually state Henrie’s name.

Deeper in the past, “Miss America” was preceded by Flowers recalling his sisters’ participation in the region’s beauty-pageant scene. He claimed that he even considered entering, joking that he’s worn some wild outfits over the years. “But I don’t think I could rock a tiara.”

Not that The Killers were pushed too far to the side. Flowers asked the crowd — by shouted response — to decide a cover song, choosing between Randy Travis’ “Forever and Ever, Amen” and “People Who Died” by The Jim Carroll Band.

Drawing just a ripple of reaction, Flowers ditched the idea. The band then dove into “Mr. Brightside.”

This is where we’d usually say the song brought the crowd to its feet, but it was already standing and remained so for about every track. A pair of other Killers classics, “In Another Life” and “Read My Mind” were played in the home stretch.

Flowers’ gift of delivering songs in unalike styles is explained effectively in a show that mixes “Thrasher” with Killers and previous solo favorites. He absorbed Britpop, new wave and post-punk in his Vegas days, and says the album that changed the trajectory of his life was “Is This It” by The Strokes (purchased at Virgin Megastore at Forum Shops at Caesars).

But Flowers’ Nephi soundtrack was his plainspoken father’s music, including Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash. When Flowers originally played “Thrasher” for his dad, 82-year-old Terry Flowers, the old man’s review was a single word: “Finally.”

We agree with Dad.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.