Tossing off a sarcastic remark, a young concertgoer watching The Killers' show Friday night nailed the problem with the band's performance.

"It sounds just like the CD. Woo-hoo!" he quipped as the band chugged through "Believe Me Natalie," the least compelling track from the band's 20-month-old debut album.

Just a week from wrapping up a lengthy tour, The Killers returned home and served up a well-played but tediously sterile performance for 5,800 people gathered before an outdoor stage at the Hard Rock Hotel.

This was no powerhouse performance served up for a hometown crowd.

Instead, the group simply went through the motions, traipsing for the hundredth- something time through the 11 songs on their double-platinum album, "Hot Fuss," augmenting them only with a couple of B-sides and a cover.

Without new material, the slightest hint of improvisation or any smattering of rock 'n' roll tomfoolery, the relentlessly professional band offered little to fans who have seen any of their other sold-out Las Vegas appearances.

And with ticket prices nearing $50 for only 65 minutes of music, the concert was no bargain for repeat customers witnessing the band playing the same songs in the same way they have for two years.

Clad in a white jacket, scarf and pegged black trousers, singer Brandon Flowers strode onstage and bowed before the band kicked into "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine," the snaking track they traditionally open with.

An iridescent silver backdrop and amplifiers wrapped in a glammy metallic material fit in well with the look of the signature instrument flavoring the band's sound: Flowers' rhinestone-encrusted keyboard.

"Las Vegas ... some call it the city of sin. We call it home," Flowers said after "Jenny," drawing roars. "We're happy to be here."

Run-throughs of hits "Somebody Told Me" and "Mr. Brightside" inspired singalongs, but the most dynamic performance unfolded during "Andy, You're a Star," a sexually ambiguous ode to a high school crush.

Flowers called for a spotlight on guitarist Dave Keuning, positioned himself behind him and made like a puppeteer helping him slice out the monster riff driving the song. His ensuing vocal viscerally conjured a boy in tortured love with a fellow athlete.

"Leave your number on the locker and I'll give you a call/Hey shut up, hey shut up, yeah," Flowers sang, sounding desperate, then jealous. "In a car with a girl, promise me she's not your world/'Cause Andy, you're a star."

The only other moment that grabbed me was The Killers' take on David Bowie's "Moonage Daydream," the glam-rock classic from "The Rise & Fall Of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars."

The cover actually saw stone-faced bassist Mark Stoermer cracking a gleeful smile. As usual, his rhythm section partner Ronnie Vannucci proved the stage's most engaging presence as he frenetically pounded the skins, his face alternately wrenched with concentration or shining with delight.

The crowd was nearly three times the size of any The Killers have played for locally. While The Joint at the Hard Rock can accommodate 2,000, the outdoor area used Friday comfortably held nearly three times that number.

The far-reaching marketing mavens at the Hard Rock call the venue The Theater Under the Stars.

I call it The Parking Lot Along Paradise Road.

Fortunately, the concert's sharp sound drowned out passing traffic and the jetliners zooming by to land at the nearby airport.

Still, I offer a note to organizers: Throwing some bleachers, Porta-Potties and a stage up atop asphalt and calling it a theater is a bit like me potting a couple of ficus trees in my living room and dubbing it The Kalil Nature Preserve.