It was 1985 all over again at Big Easy Concert House on Thursday night.

The sold-out Killers concert felt like the set of a John Hughes movie.

“Breakfast Club” versions of Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall would have felt right at home.

The Killers’ retro-wave synth-rock pop and slick stage show left the Big Easy painted in neon glam and concertgoers with neon grins.

More and more hipster rock bands are either trying to emulate Duran Duran or Joy Division, and leading the trend is The Killers.

The Las Vegas quartet proved why in a sharp, simple and short set that started about 8:30 p.m., with the mandatory encore ending before 10 p.m.

Despite the relatively quick concert, fans didn’t seem to feel shortchanged. Credit, in part, has to go to a stellar performance by the opener, Canadian folk singers and identical twins Tegan and Sara.

The Killers started their set the way they started their flashy 2004 debut, “Hot Fuss,” exploding into the anthemic “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine,” followed by the hit single, “Mr. Brightside.”

The way The Killers blasted through tracks from the album, it almost felt like a “thanks for paying the rent” show, but there is only so much to be expected from a band that is touring for its debut album.

Still, playing hit singles early in the set is gutsy. It added to the band’s charming arrogance.

While there was rarely any deviation from the studio recordings, The Killers’ ultra-poppy bread-crumb trail formula was countered with a couple of left hooks during the show. The Killers introduced the audience to a couple of un-released songs and b-sides, like the glossy “Where Is She.”

Then there was the booby trap, when The Killers floored the crowd by slyly sliding into a portion of Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon,” a trick they have only played at a handful of stops during the tour.

Throughout the performance The Killers remained icily detached, but cocksure. Frontman Brandon Flowers faded behind his synthesizer, then reclaimed command at the foot of the stage between choruses and verses without ever seeming to break a sweat, or mussing his suit and tie.

Flowers and the band never really loosened up or engaged the crowd. They simply let the show stand on the merit of the songs. And that was enough.

All it took was the opening riff of “Somebody Told Me,” and fans were immediately plugged in. The audience – a mix of teens too young to know the shame of the ‘80s and 20-somethings who spent the ‘90s trying to forget about the ‘80s – clapped to the beat and sang every lyric of the song.

The crowd was even more intense during “All These Things That I Have Done.”

By the end, pockets of the herd that oozed out of the building could be heard singing the chant “I’ve got soul but I’m not a soldier,” proving The Killers’ undersized set packed a powerful punch.