First the good news: This time the Killers did not play at the acoustically challenged Roy Wilkins Auditorium. Now for the better news: The '80s obsessed dance-rock band's performance Monday night at Northrop Auditorium was just two songs short of terrific.

After two hit-and-miss shows at Wilkins, the Killers' third big-show appearance in the Twin Cities -- to promote their third album, "Day & Age" -- was a charmer. Frontman Brandon Flowers, 27, proved he is one of the most charismatic rock stars to emerge in the '00s. At Northrop, he had the right combination of suave swagger and this-is-awfully-important urgency.

Never mind that there is probably nothing important about the Killers' music, especially when his best line is "I got soul but I'm not a soldier." But the 95-minute concert was bracing, buoyant dance-rock fun.

Musically, this Las Vegas quartet -- augmented by as many as three musicians at Northrop -- takes its inspirations from the 1980s. Just a cursory listen to Monday's songs made well-schooled ears perk up with "Oh, that sounds like the Cars" or Duran Duran or the Talking Heads or Power Station or David Bowie or Queen or U2. That kind of overt homage to the killer music of that MTV-dominated decade might help explain why the Killers' crowd -- which was heavily teens and 20-somethings at the Wilkins shows in '05 and '07 -- has expanded to Gen Xers and baby boomers.

Regardless of their age, the 4,159 concertgoers were dancing to the irresistibly bouncy hits "Human," "Mr. Brightside" and "Somebody Told Me," which was given a harder, harsher but winning treatment.

Whether buoyant or bracing, the Killers' music was a wall-of-sound assault, sometimes majestic, occasionally swirling, often intense and always loud. At times, Dave Keuning's guitar drowned out Flowers' voice, which isn't easy to do because he sings with so much gusto, proud emotion and plain old oomph.

The set list drew heavily from "Day & Age," which was released to auspicious reviews in late November. Those tunes made for a stronger, more consistent performance than in the past.

"Spaceman" was a spirited, Bowiesque opener, "Bling" was a dark, driving, foot-stomping delight and "Neon Tiger" was a cute, almost carnival-like detour (complete with albino tiger visual patterns). However, the new "Joy Ride" took an ill-advised turn into Talking Heads territory. The Killers also headed in the wrong direction for 2006's "Sam's Town," a precious piano ballad accented by faux palm trees with Christmas lights.

Nonetheless, after the bad-news Killers' shows at Wilkins, this Northrop concert was as headline-worthy as this week's news out of Washington.

Jon Bream • 612-673-1719

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