The Artists Formerly Known For That Creep Song, a pigeonhole Radiohead surely detests, have put distance between themselves and their 1993 blockbusterhit. Realizing that self-flagellating mopefests don't play well in Vegas, they drew heavily from their latest album, The Bends, for their set at Mesa's Nile Theater on Saturday, with Creep popping up midset almost as an afterthought.

As a live act, Radiohead has the potential for bigger audiences -- it'll test this potential when it opens for R.E.M. this fall -- and the band has charisma even without trying. Lead singer and guitarist Thom Yorke, flailing his arms spastically about the microphone and shaking his carrot-topped head with excruciating emotion, connected with the crowd of about 500 even as the band transmitted a mix of disdain and self-loathing.

Unfortunately, Radiohead now has a vague identity, trading the Morrissey-of-the-Month mantle for songs that bastardize rock-and-roll history and recall other bands -- but not Radiohead -- when you hear them. The opener,My Iron Lung, began with Bryan Ferry vocal stylings but devolved into a Jimi Hendrix riff, a contrast so left-field that it approached parody. The crowd, a third of whom left before the encore, seemed to agree that there's only so muchsmoke, guitars and music history you can take in one sitting.