Forget starting with a whisper. Alternative rockers Neon Trees started with a bang late Saturday night at Summerfest's U.S. Cellular Stage and showed very little sign of stopping throughout their massively fun 75-minute set.

After triumphantly hitting the stage with the opening to Justice’s "Genesis" blaring in the background – possibly the most epic way to open anything ever – the Provo-based newcomers energetically launched into a loud, bass-heavy rendition of "Moving In the Dark."

The bass was a bit much on the opener, but by the time Neon Trees got to the next number, "1983," the mix was perfectly evened out. With the bass less overwhelming, the catchy, polished alternative rock and lead singer Tyler Glenn’s growling vocals were able to soar.

Spot-on singing aside, Glenn served as quite the firecracker for the band. To call his dramatic strutting, hip-snapping poses and prancing across the stage an above-average Mick Jagger impression would be selling him far short. He seemed more like the Stones’ frontman reincarnated with a blonde buzz cut.

Adding to his energetic performance were little stories scattered throughout the set. In the middle of "1983," he reminisced about the band’s memorable first visit to Summerfest in 2010. In the next song, "Sins of My Youth," Glenn talked honestly about his rough school life, in which he looked like "a combination of Robert Smith and Edward Scissorhands."

Some of the stories didn’t quite hit – calling his rock star occupation "not much of a living" was worthy of a dubious eyebrow raise – but there’s no denying that the spitfire lead singer is a natural entertainer. I also appreciated his nod to the plane crash in San Francisco and moment of silence before a modest, piano-only version of "Your Surrender" late in the set.

The concert rocked on with the brassy "Love and Affection," "Calling My Name" featuring Branden Campbell’s prowling bass and "Lessons in Love." Neon Trees then hopped into their first hit, "Animal." The song was a contagious sing-a-long single back in 2010, and time has not diminished its charms. Glenn barely had to sing the lyrics; the crowd took over for most of it.  

After "Animal," Neon Trees moved onto some slower, but still charismatic, material. "Mad Love" gave Elaine Bradley, the band’s drummer and background vocalist, some of the spotlight with a few verses and nice harmonies with Glenn, while "Trust" brought out some of the group’s techno-influenced synth sounds.

"Your Surrender" brought the slow-song segment of the concert to a close and also provided a nice change of pace. Much of Neon Trees’ music admittedly sounds a little similar, so the stripped-down, ballad version of "Your Surrender" brought some needed variety to the set.

The revenge rager "In the Next Room" closed out the main portion of the show, but it wasn’t long before Neon Trees came back out for their encore, decked out in cheeseheads of all varieties. The band rocked out an entertaining cover of The Human League’s "Don’t You Want Me" and its own "Weekend" before finally wrapping up with – you guessed it – "Everybody Talks."

It was an ideal crowd-pleasing way to end a crowd-pleasing show. Neon Trees certainly lived up to the bright, colorful adjective in its name.