Fortunately, that wasn't the case with Cheap Trick [ tickets ]'s performance Thursday night (11/2) in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, it was symptomatic of the predominantly middle-aged crowd that filled little more than half of the Wiltern Theater.

Make no mistake, Cheap Trick could play in front of a crowd of corpses, if need be (and probably have, in their 30 years as a band). While the crowd this night may have resembled that description at times, they did have a pulse, as evidenced when they stood up midway through the band's 17-song, 75-minute set, seemingly in approval of the first "hit" of the night, "I Want You to Want Me." It must have been a long day at work, though, because they were sitting again before Tom Petersson could dust off his bass intro to "I Know What I Want," from the 1979 classic "Dream Police."

Sure, there was polite applause for "If You Want My Love," but considering the not-so-polite heckling that was scattered amidst "The Flame" ("Never play that song again!" muttered one guy) and the lackluster response to the feel-good television hit "That '70s Song" (yes, the theme song from "That '70s Show"), you'd have hoped that the crowd were such die-hards that they'd have been ecstatic to hear the band lay into the hook-laden pop of the bittersweet "Oh, Candy," from their '77 debut. But that didn't seem the case.

The opening/closing tandem of "Hello There"/"Goodnight" and the rumbling, low-end grind of "Big Eyes" were also musical highlights of the band's early years, yet with the exception of the obvious standards "Dream Police" and "Surrender," there was seldom more than an isolated display of dancing and base-level applause. It was as if the audience paid to hear Cheap Trick, and were ambivalent to the fact that the band were performing before them. It was as if every stereotype about lackluster Los Angeles crowds had come to fruition, even if not for the band's lack of trying.

Robin Zander has defied time, looking every bit the rock star frontman he's epitomized since the early '80s, and his vocals were crisp, his lyrics precise, and the band's power-pop melodies as effervescent as ever. As always, though, it was Rick Nielsen who stole the onstage spotlight, his pre-song banter delivered with a comic's timing, and his adept playing unfurled with an unassuming style and quiet genius. One of the night's highlights? Watching the master axe-man secure his 75-pound, five-necked custom guitar with one hand, and fumble with his earpiece while shooting guitar picks into the crowd with the other at the outset of "Surrender."

While they didn't go out of their way to hawk new release "Rockford," the album was well-represented throughout the night, with "Welcome to the World," "Come on Come on Come on" and "If it Takes a Lifetime" anchoring the set, just as drummer Bun E. Carlos anchored the band's near-flawless execution. When the band was joined by MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer on "Best Friend," it was one of the night's energetic highs.

If only someone could have removed the anchors from the seats and hoisted the apathetic crowd onto their feet, maybe that energy might have been contagious.

Cheap Trick Setlist:

1. "Hello There"
2. "Big Eyes"
3. "Oh, Candy"
4. "Welcome to the World"
5. "If You Want My Love"
6. "Come on Come on Come on"
7. "Best Friend"
8. "I Want You to Want Me"
9. "I Know What I Want"
10. "Voices"
11. "It Takes a Lifetime"
12. "The Flame"
13. "That '70s Song"
14. "Surrender"

ENCORE
15. "Dream Police"
16. "Auf Wiedersehen"
17. "Goodnight"