If you grew up in the '80s, as I did, listening to the Killers' smash CD''Hot Fuss'' is enough to make you want to pull that old Izod rugby out of the back of the closet and pop the collar. Maybe scour a few thrift stores for some parachute pants and a pair of those tacky checkered tennis shoes kids used to wear.

But don't do it, my aging Gen-X people. Not only will you kind of look like a jackass, but wasn't experiencing '80s chic the first time enough? Have you forgotten why we switched to bands like Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden in the first place?

It was at least in part a reaction to bouncy, neon aesthetic of new wave. (I won't even get into butt rock here.) And now - gasp - the new wave bands are back; and the Killers have been crowned their king.

Not that any of 16-year-olds who witnessed the hot Las Vegas quartet’s headlining set at Key Arena Wednesday could relate to the dreadful sense of deje vu I felt at times. Oh contraire. Many of those kids weren’t even around during the heyday of New Order and Duran Duran, a couple of bands Killers channel convincingly on CD. Many screamed their lungs raw and sang along with gusto to the three hits responsible for landing the Killers on the arena circuit after just one album.

But as they capitalized on their meteoric rise, the Killers – singer/keyboard player Brandon Flowers, guitarist David Keuning, bassist Mark Stoermer and drummer Ronnie Vannucci – didn’t always seem ready for prime time. And, from the start, muddy sound didn't help their cause as it muddled Flowers' vocals and blended many of the lesser songs into a blurry, overwhelming miasma of synthesizer.

Opening band British Sea Power played to maybe 2,000 fans, which made me wonder if the Killers wouldn't have been better served playing the Paramount Theatre – probably a better place for an up-and-coming band to cut its teeth. But the crowd appeared to triple by the time the Killers made their entrance half an hour later.

A curtain dropped behind the main attraction, revealing a silvery backdrop as the band opened with''Jenny Was a Friend of Mine'' and ''On Top.'' Neither of those numbers sounded as crisp as the recorded versions. And the band didn’t really hit its stride until it tore into debut single''Somebody Told Me.'' Clusters of fans on the arena floor bounced to the songs infectious rhythm, while people in the stands got up and danced at their seats.

All of the songs in the band's 75-minute set came from the debut album, except for a cover of David Bowie's ''Moonage Daydream” that the Killers performed during the encore. Granted ''Under the Gun'' and ''Glamorous Indie Rock 'N'Roll” are only available on the deluxe edition of ''Hot Fuss.''The quartet didn't play anything from the sophomore that the band has been working on for the better part of a year.

There was a stark contrast between the singles and other material, with several songs sounding bland in comparison to the anthemic hits. Even standouts''Smile Like You Mean It'' and ''Andy, You're a Star'' suffered in the live setting. And even though the band's set was relatively short, a long time seemed to pass between “Somebody Told Me” and ''Mr. Brightside,'' the hit the Killers took a bow with. The room's energy level went up several notches as fans sang along with the last pre-encore number.

Then the band left the stage after Flowers mumbled,''We're gonna do this thing. It's a surprise, I guess.''

The crowd was left to murmur for several moments before the band returned. It wasn't clear what the surprise was supposed to be as the encore began with the anticlimactic synthetic dirge of 'Everything Is Going to Be All Right,'' with everyone on keyboards except for Keuning. Maybe it was the Bowie cover, which came next.

But at least the band managed to finish on a high note. ''This song is the last song we're playing in America, but we'll be back'' Flowers said, acknowledging the end of the U.S. trek. (The tour winds down in Vancouver, BC today.)

It was the intro to ''All These Things That I've Done,'' a song that features the corny but somehow irresistible refrain ''I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier.''Did Flowers write that or a 12-year-old write that? At any rate, fans sang along and seemed somewhat satisfied by a decent but not especially memorable performance.

The Killers set list:

Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
On Top
Somebody Told Me
Midnight Show
Believe Me, Natalie
Change Your Mind
Under the Gun
Smile Like You Mean It
Andy, You’re a Star
Glamorous Indie Rock ‘N’ Roll
Mr. Brightside

Encore:

Everything Will Be All Right
Moonage Daydream (David Bowie)
All These Things That I’ve Done