By JON M. GILBERTSON
Special to the Journal Sentinel

Posted: May 8, 2005

Las Vegas is dubiously renowned for many things, but not for famous rock 'n' roll bands.

That has changed, for the present, with the Killers. The quartet came together in 2002, released its debut album, "Hot Fuss," last summer and is packing national venues, including the Eagles Ballroom on Saturday night.

It stands to reason, though, that the Killers formed in Vegas - a city that has always dealt in outsize imitation - because the band hasn't so much created music as dug up, shined and reused salvageable fragments from music others created roughly two decades ago.

The kickoff, "Midnight Show," revealed its antecedents in 10 seconds: It was a song the Fixx never wrote (but certainly could have), played by U2 during its "Unforgettable Fire" phase.

Next up was "Andy, You're a Star," which revisited the depressive swooning glory of mid-period Cure. Later on, "All the Pretty Faces" - a "new" song, or rather an exhumation not yet recorded and released - cast a model of plastic decadence in the mold of Depeche Mode.

But the Killers, like any good Vegas act, knew how to deliver a show. Lead singer and keyboardist Brandon Flowers had a presence reminiscent of David Bowie when he, too, was a fake (Thin White Duke or Ziggy Stardust, didn't matter). His stiffness was the stiffness of a man doing the robot dance correctly, and his quaver was the quaver of an impressionist who had closely studied the sexual confusion and taut anxiety of those he replicated (e.g., Robert Smith, Gary Numan).

The sound quality was almost better than the album, with the cavernous reverb inherent to the venue enhancing the fey drama of the music. And the brightly lighted band logo behind the Killers even resembled the garish ELVIS that flashed behind Presley during his waning days in you-know-where.

Basically, the Killers' performance mirrored Interpol's appearance at The Rave earlier this year. Whereas Interpol made up for a significant lack of open-faced charisma with music that developed something beyond its influences, the Killers made up for a lack of originality with glittery enthusiasm.

That enthusiasm came back to the Killers: Most of the crowd not only stuck around after the band's beguilingly pompous single, "Mr. Brightside," but also demanded an encore.