The Killers pull drummer on stage – again
Wellington drummer Taylor Johnston experienced a massive life ‘‘highlight’’ on Monday night, when he was invited on stage at Spark Arena to play a song with US rock outfit The Killers.
Fans from the capital may recall Johnston from 2018 when he was first brought on stage to play the same song – For Reasons Unknown – with the band at TSB Arena. Four years later, in a different city and at a different venue, he decided to try his luck again.
‘‘It wasn’t staged,’’ the 22-yearold said yesterday. Instead, Johnston got in early and put his homemade sign in the face of frontman Brandon Flowers every chance he got.
‘‘I got in the queue about 1pm just to make sure I got up to the front.’’
Every time frontman Flowers walked past, he waved his sign, which read: ‘‘I’m Taylor from Wellington. Can I drum For Reasons Unknown?’’
But for a while it seemed the band was not planning to play the song.
‘‘It took a bit of convincing, I think. It didn’t seem like they were going to play that song, but people started chanting when they were going into the last song . . . they stopped it and called me up.’’
‘‘Switch it up, we’re doing Reasons,’’ Brandon said, while Johnston was holding his sign up. ‘‘Let this guy up.’’ Johnston, wearing a Killers band shirt, chatted briefly to the band onstage and Flowers pumped up the crowd for the performance: ‘‘These people have paid good money Taylor! Let’s show them what you got.’’
He did, and the fans responded. Johnston had the arena on its feet and ended his performance to massive applause.
Johnston is the drummer of Wellington band Holloway, but he says a packed Spark Arena was easily the biggest crowd that he has ever played to.
‘‘I kinda had to block that part of it out,’’ he laughs. ‘‘ A bit high on adrenaline – I don’t really have much recollection of while I was up there, other than it being pretty surreal.’’
Johnston has been a fan of the band, known for the hits Mr Brightside and Somebody Told Me, for about 10 years. His own band formed after the members all met at the 2018 show.
The Killers are known for inviting local musicians to drum to For Reasons Unknown when on tour.
Johnston did not get to spend any more time with the band, but The Killers drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr did let him keep the drumsticks.
‘‘He let me walk off with them so that’s a little piece of free merchandise.’’
‘‘I don’t really have much recollection of while I was up there, other than it being pretty surreal.’’ Taylor Johnston