During their headlining set at the massive first weekend of Austin City Limits, the Killers paid tribute to the late Tom Petty with covers of two of Petty’s most notable hits. They opened their set with “American Girl” as a big portrait of Petty beamed down on them from the video screen and frontman Brandon Flowers wailed, “Ladies and gentlemen, pay some rock and roll respect to the irreplaceable, the one and only, Tom Petty.” Check that out above.
Later in the evening, they performed “The Waiting” after Flowers spoke more eloquently about Petty’s influence on his life and his music, and the emotional toll of his passing. “We’re going to do another Tom Petty song,” he said to cheers from the crowd. “It was just like somebody stabbed you in the heart when you heard that he died. I wish we knew more. We would have played more if we knew more. These are people who contribute so much to our life. His music will never die and we’re grateful for all that he did. I wish we could tell him that.”
Check out their second emotional Petty cover below.
The Killers’ Wonderful Wonderful is out now. Check out Steven Hyden’s review here.
