POP CAPSULES : FLASH VS. FISHBONE

Barbados-born, Bronx-raised Grandmaster Flash is a major figure in the rap-music scene, thanks to his trend-setting 1982 track “The Message,” but his normally firebrand style was a bit less flashy than usual at his Hollywood Palladium concert Saturday. Flash’s sociopolitical message was as in focus as ever, but the execution by Flash’s five-member band was somewhat of a letdown.

Actually, he may have just suffered in comparison to the hyper-active Fishbone, which preceded him on the three-act bill. If George Clinton were 17 and living in a Southern California beach community, he’d probably make music that sounds like this. With a nutty style that borders at times on polka-gone-psychedelic, the sextet revved up the packed house to such a degree that harried security guards had their hands full trying to keep peace. The third-billed Vandals played a brief set of punky stuff that didn’t come across nearly as effectively.