In a world of booming electronic music and happy ska-punk pop, passionate rock has become a sparse commodity, especially on the alternative radio airwaves and MTV. Thankfully, Brit bands bombardments of such flavor-of-the-months as Sugar Ray, Prodigy and Smash Mouth. Their ethereal soundscapes were especially welcome in San Francisco on April 2 as the two critically acclaimed rock acts thrilled a capacity crowd at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.

Spiritualized got the night off to a great start as frontman and vocalist Jason Pierce and his six bandmates offered songs off their much-raved-about 1997 album Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating in Space and even threw in a few oldies from their first two albums. With guitars roaring, saxophone blaring and drums hammering, Spiritualized filled the rather large venue with swirling yet focused harmonies. Songs like "Electricity," "Come Together" and "Lay Back in the Sun" found an energy not fully realized on their respective records, transcending their usual laid-back nature.

For some crowd members, that might have been worth the ticket price alone, but after a short break, Oxford, England's rock heroes, Radiohead, emerged fully bathed in lights and ecstatic screams. Fresh from an absorbing yet haunting performance in Los Angeles the night before, Radiohead started immediately with alterations in their set list, revving up the crowd with such electric songs as "Airbag" and "Talk Show Host."

Led by the emotionally charged vocalist Thom Yorke, Radiohead soared through most of the songs from their 1997 Grammy-winning O.K. Computer while also playing a majority of tracks from their overlooked 1995 classic, The Bends. Sadly, songs from their first album, Pablo Honey, were not featured, even their signature hit, "Creep." Yet with such a change in direction from the self-deprecating, grunge-esque Pablo Honey to the atmospheric, more focused works that are The Bends and O.K. Computer, it made sense for Radiohead to avoid the older material.

The quintet featured import B-sides never released in America during their almost two-hour set, including "Banana Co." and "The Trickster." As a testament to the popularity of British imports in America, loud screams emanated from the audience when such songs were played. Yet the rock-thirsty crowd roared louder for such Radiohead classics as "Paranoid Android," "Fake Plastic Trees" and the encore highlight, "Let Down." Despite the resonating brilliance of their albums, Radiohead's true potential surfaced on-stage, as the mixture of intense rhythms, moody guitars and keyboards, and an intense lighting display held the audience in awe. Without a mosher or skankin' teenager in sight, the age-diverse crowd floated in a state of nirvana, appreciating the spacey, emotive power of rock'n'roll at its finest, thanks to two bands who haven't forgotten the true power of music.

-Mike Prevatt, UCLA

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