Now that the grand scale sound of “Sam’s Town” has been unleashed to the masses, The Killers have decided to see how the new album translated to a live setting. If the very sold out State Theatre was any indication, the band will be doing just fine heading to arenas in 2007.

Three shows into the eleven date theatre tour, the Las Vegas band displayed an improvement in their musical chops in their 65 minute set. Complete with a backdrop of the “Sam’s Town” albums name in neon lights, the band stage set up looked like a mixture of some cheesy lounge of their hometown, and some low-rent used car dealership. The band emerged, with lead singer Brandon Flowers (looking like he just got done shopping at Arizona Saddlery) bringing the crowd to their feet with the title track from the new album.

The band kept the hits rolling early, playing the current hit single “When You Were Young”, followed by the band’s first hit “Somebody Told Me”. The band launched into many new songs during the set, such as the stellar “Bling (Confessions of A King)”, and the angry sounding “Uncle Johnny”. Normally, bands play new songs and their fans respond by going to get a beer or going to the bathroom. In The Killers situation, the response for the new material was stronger than usual situations, and kept the fans captivated, even in quiet moments. The band touched on some of the tracks from their debut album, “Hot Fuss”, such as “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine”, which seemed to still be a favorite of the fans.

Drummer Ronnie Vanucci (who now looks like a twin to Jason Lee’s title character on My Name Is Earl) was the wild man of the bunch, keeping the crowd watching his grandiose Drum God antics. Lead singer Flowers seemed more loose with the crowd, than the previous show this reviewer saw him at, where he looked more tentative. One problem with the show was the band’s sound drowning out Flowers’ voice on occasion.

The sound issues were cleared up by the band’s signature hit “Mr. Brightside”, which obviously got the biggest crowd response, and sent the band into the encore.

The Killers seem destined for the big arenas with the “Sam’s Town” album, but they seem right at place in a theatre type setting. Will an arena setting drown out the band, and make them seem far smaller? Only time will tell, but for one night, The Killers were in a perfect spot.