The Killers tap M83 as opening act for Winter tour

There is a rich and storied tradition of big-name, stadium-filling rock acts plucking a critical darling up from the minor leagues to open their shows. It's a win-win, of course: the big guys score some artistic cred, while the smaller guys gain some much-needed exposure.

More interesting, though, is the fact that there's a definite lineage to this practice:

1992 - U2 selects underground heroes the Pixies to open on the first leg of their ginormous Zoo TV tour. The Pixies implode shortly thereafter.

2004 - A Pixies reunion tour incites critical hysteria. Suddenly superstar headliners for the first time in their career, the Pixies feature a revolving door of hungry up-and-comers as their opening acts. Among those many bands: some Las Vegas quartet known as the Killers.

Well well... look how the wheel of history turns! Now the Killers are the toast of the town, enjoying enough commercial clout to play starmaker to a wide-eyed hopeful. This winter, they pass the torch on to M83, pseudonym for French electro-pop savant Anthony Gonzalez.

The match fits better than it might appear upon first blush. Gonzalez's latest, Saturdays=Youth, has been widely hailed as the soundtrack to the great John Hughes movie that never was. The Killers, meanwhile, have recently returned to their trademark retro-'80s glitz after a brief trip to Sam's Town.

Could this supporting gig (along with opening for Kings of Leon in the U.K.) mean the next big leap for Gonzalez? History's certainly on his side.

Killers + M83 dates:

January
17 - Denver, Colo. @ Magness Arena
19 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ Northrop Auditorium
20 - Chicago, Ill. @ UIC Pavilion
22 - Ypsilanti, Mich. @ EMU Convocation Center
23 - Toronto, Ontario @ Air Canada Centre
25 - New York, N.Y. @ Madison Square Garden
26 - Boston, Mass. @ Agganis Arena
28 - Fairfax, Va. @ George Mason University Patriot
29 - North Myrtle Beach, S.C. @ House of Blues
30 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Atlanta Civic Center
31 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Grand Ole Opry House

February
2 - Houston, Texas @ Verizon Wireless Theater
3 - Austin, Texas @ Frank Erwin Center
4 - Grand Prairie, Texas @ Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie

Related links:
News: M83 set to tour U.S. in November
News: The Killers to tour early next year
YouTube: M83 - "Run Into Flowers" live

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