On paper, the hip P J Harvey- Radiohead tour looked like one of the great alternative pairings of the summer. But the former's lyrically heavy material and the latter's often powerless songs don't make the proper transition in concert.

Critical favorite P J Harvey made a somewhat triumphant return to Southern California, scoring high with the band's true believers but failing to bring new converts to the fold. The threesome's often obscure material coupled with the Palladium's notoriously poor sound caused the band's set to fall a tad bit short.

Choosing to perform material from its two releases -- "Dry" and the current "Rid of Me" -- the British trio remained nearly stationary throughout a relatively short set, relying on the band's strong songs and leader Polly Jean Harvey's powerful and affecting vocal delivery.

Seemingly nailed to the stage and clad in a skirt and sequin shirt, Harvey intensely strummed through the band's guitar-heavy tunes, stopping only briefly between numbers. While her performance was top-notch and her songs brilliant, something was definitely lacking in the Island recording artist's set.

Radiohead, riding high on the success of the single "Creep" (which is winning cultlike devotion among the alternative nation), delivered a universally bland set.

With the exception of "Creep," Radiohead songs -- like "You" and "Vegetable" from their Capitol debut "Pablo Honey" -- certainly come across better on record. The band's often mellower material just doesn't carry live. However, the slashing guitar in the song "Creep" does show marks of brilliance.

Opening the show were Matador recording artists Moon-shake.