ROBERT HILBURN : INXS FROM DOWN UNDER PLOTS ITS WAY TO THE TOP

Just who was that on stage Thursday night at the Hollywood Palladium?

Yes, the singer wore a sleeveless denim jacket and there was a vaguely inspirational quality to a couple of his songs, but it wasn’t the Boss.

Yes, the singer leaped freely about the stage and reached out at several times to members of the audience, but it wasn’t U2’s Bono.

And, yes, there was a strong, synthesizer-assisted dance-floor current to many of the band’s songs, and a grinding guitar edge to others, but it wasn’t Heaven 17 nor hard-rock superheroes Led Zeppelin.

It was INXS, whose willingness to mix all those images and sounds in a single package shows why the Australian sextet may just be the most shamelessly commercial rock outfit since Queen. These guys have their eyes set on the big time--and a Top 10 single will surely take them there. At least for a while.

Just as Queen won an enormous following a decade ago by cleverly blending successful elements of ‘60s and ‘70s rock into a flashy and aggressive combination of glam-rock, art-rock and post-Zeppelin crunch, INXS is putting together a coalition of dance, funk and heavy guitar strains.

INXS (pronounced “in excess”) may not come up with anything as ear-catching or distinctive as “Bohemian Rhapsody,” but the exhilarating swirl of 1983’s “Don’t Change” and the enticing dance-floor romanticism of “This Time,” the group’s current single, suggest that the group has top-of-the-chart potential. Its most appealing tracks so far seem geared to the female teen-age segment of the MTV crowd, but there’s a guitar vigor to much of the new “Listen Like Thieves” album that reaches out for a hard-rock crowd.

INXS’ arrival on stage, amid smoke clouds and a lingering organ chord introduction, even reminded you of the self-importance that eventually made Queen insufferable. Unfortunately, the band also shares another characteristic of Queen.

Beyond the flash of its stage shows and the lure of its musical textures, there was a hollowness to Queen. The band stood for nothing beyond ambition. Once Queen quit delivering the appealing tracks with consistency, the absence of substance and purpose became so annoying that you couldn’t even find much pleasure in listening to the old hits.

INXS doesn’t convince you it has any driving originality or vision. To be sure, lead singer Michael Hutchence is an effective front man. He keeps the momentum going as he races about the stage and he’s enough of a sex symbol to keep the teen-queen hearts thumping. The band also laid down an infectious beat Thursday that kept the eager, enthusiastic crowd dancing throughout the evening.

At the end, however, you are left only with appreciation for INXS’ game plan. In the hit-conscious mood of ‘70s rock, there was almost something exciting in Queen’s climb to the top. But times have changed. There is a renewed sense of integrity and purpose in rock today that makes INXS’ struggle for success seem irrelevant. The band, which was scheduled to play a second Palladium show Friday, will be at the San Diego Civic Theatre tonight.

Phantom, Rocker & Slick, the opening act Thursday, is a new and throughly uninteresting group led by Brian Setzer’s two sidekicks in the Stray Cats (Slim Jim Phantom on drums and Lee Rocker on vocals and bass) and veteran guitarist Earl Slick. The Stay Cats’ whole rockabilly stance may have been a novelty, but it at least it had a youthful, sensual attitude. This group was so anonymous that it all but disappeared before your eyes.

LIVE ACTION: Start making your New Year’s Eve plans. X and Lone Justice team up that night in a critic’s dream bill at the Santa Monica Civic, while Randy Newman and Richard Thompson, two other highly respected artists, will be at the Beverly Theatre. Also due New Year’s Eve: Oingo Boingo and the Untouchables at the Long Beach Arena and the Motels at the Hollywood Palladium. Tickets for all four shows go on sale Monday. . . . Ratt and Bon Jovi will be at the Forum on Dec. 27. Tickets also go on sale Monday. . . . Kashif headlines the Beverly on Dec. 21. . . . The Cult will be at the Santa Monica Civic Dec. 15. . . . Los Lobos returns to the Palace on Dec. 12. . .