feel good
Drum teacher pulled from crowd to play on stage with The Killers in Townsville
One lucky man had the experience of a lifetime after being plucked from the crowd to play alongside The Killers in front of 18,000 people.
Drum teacher Tim McClelland drove more than four hours from Mackay to watch the American rock band take the stage at the Townsville Stadium on Saturday night.
The band's frontman Brandon Flowers spotted him in the crowd holding a sign asking for the chance to "drum one".
Mr McClelland thought he'd take his chances by bringing a homemade sign. (Supplied: Tim McClelland)
He was invited on stage to perform For Reasons Unknown and received an overwhelming response from screaming fans.
"[The Killers] have always been a massive band to me," Mr McClelland said.
"To be able to actually sit there on Ronnie [Vannucci]'s kit and just look out over that crowd while Brandon Flowers was singing the call and response bit to the crowd was just surreal.
"It's the stuff that dreams are made of."
Mr McClelland says the response to his performance has been overwhelming. (Supplied: Tim McClelland)
The Townsville concert was the first leg of The Killers' four-city Australian tour, and the band's only regional show.
Townsville Enterprise said the event had injected about $10 million into the local economy.
Despite his impressive performance, Mr McClelland said it was his first time attempting the fan-favourite song, which the band often allows a fan to drum.
"I've listened to [For Reasons Unknown] many, many times, I know the song inside and out, but I've never actually sat down on the drum kit and played it," he said.
"I thought, well, this would be crazy for me not to take this opportunity and make a sign and just see what happens.
"I liken it to riding a rollercoaster – it's just adrenaline and excitement much more than it is fear or nerves."
The Killers played to a crowd of 18,000 people in Townsville. (ABC News: Lily Nothling)
He said the response to his performance had been overwhelming.
"[People] were coming over and shaking my hand and patting me on the back and … taking selfies with me," he said.
"My phone's been blowing up … with messages and comments and things on social media.
"It's been wild. I'm still on the high."
The concert was not Mr McClelland's first encounter with The Killers.
He met them in 2013 in a hotel lobby on the Gold Coast, where they had been playing a festival.
"When I got up on stage, I pulled out my phone and I had the photo of me and Ronnie there from 12 years ago," Mr McClelland said.
"I showed it to Ronnie, and he laughed, and he said, well at least one of us still looks good."
Mr McClelland met Ronnie Vannucci at a Gold Coast hotel in 2013. (Supplied: Tim McClelland)
The drum teacher said he was eager to show his students the videos of the performance.
"I think they'll be pretty excited," he said.
"I might have to teach the song For Reasons Unknown to quite a few of my students now."