POP MUSIC REVIEW : Diverse Acts Converge at ‘Gathering of Tribes’ : Concert: The all-day pop smorgasbord attracted a fair-sized crowd. The 14-act bill had stylists ranging from hard rock to folk to rap.

Chalk up one small blow for diversity, if not for overriding musical excellence.

Dubbed “A Gathering of the Tribes,” the all-day pop smorgasbord on Sunday at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa attracted 9,000 to 10,000 people, according to promoters--not bad for a 14-act bill that lacked even a single marquee name capable of headlining an amphitheater in Orange County.

This gathering sprang from English rocker Ian Astbury’s idea of creating a festival of contrasting stylists ranging from hard rock to folk to rap. While at least 95% of the audience was white, listeners’ enthusiastic embrace of the lineup’s two rap acts, and their willingness to sample and enjoy the 10-hour day’s full range of performers, showed that diversity has a constituency.

Any worries about rap being rejected, or merely tolerated, disappeared the moment Queen Latifah burst onto the stage late in the afternoon with hammering beats and exuberant personality.

Her raps offered overworked, boastful themes, but what she said mattered less than how she said it. The New Jersey rapper’s 20-minute set communicated zest, humor and friendliness, and a healthy measure of confidence and self-respect. She also got Sinead O’Connor to come out and say “hello,” but that’s all.

The lineup’s other rapper, Ice-T, was all profane bluster and attitude: some good comments on the racism involved in rap censorship, and some unrepentant sexism in his raps.

More rap was expected, but the popular, controversial Public Enemy didn’t appear as first advertised. Speaking angrily to the crowd at separate junctures, Astbury, Latifah and Ice-T said Public Enemy was missing because of pressure from local authorities.

Costa Mesa Police Chief David L. Snowden denied that his department had anything to do with preventing Public Enemy from playing. A Public Enemy spokesman was still attempting Tuesday to determine why the band did not perform.

Michelle Shocked, backed by Tower of Power and romping with rocking blues and R&B;, turned in a satisfying set that also included a stark, eloquent new ballad about coping with grief.

Despite some lovely harmonies, the Indigo Girls could have taken some hints from Shocked about the advantages of not being too solemn. Iggy Pop was awfully restrained considering his well-earned position as one of rock’s most combustive live performers. The day’s least-known acts, Canadian folk-rockers Crash Vegas and British ‘60s revivalists Charlatans U.K., were promising newcomers.

As for the rest, the London Quireboys regurgitated old Rod Stewart and the Faces stuff, sans the warmth, humor and bonhomie. The Cramps played longer--and worse--than any other band on the bill. Soundgarden packed a rumbling wallop, and singer Chris Cornell’s emotional howls lifted some numbers out of the instrumental murk.

Mission U.K.’s barefoot singer Wayne Hussey was an extremely energetic panderer, but still little more than a panderer. Former Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones makes a decent hard-rock sidekick, but his singing was too weak to make him much of a band leader.

Things improved when Astbury took over the vocals for the last three songs, and his partner in the Cult, Billy Duffy, arrived to add some guitar riffing. But it wasn’t enough to fire up a crowd that was tiring near the end of a long day.