POP MUSIC : New Order Takes an Old Path : And it works. It’s the planned subtleties, not spontaneity, that make the group’s sound alluring and keep it an innovative band.

Monday’s concert at the Hollywood Bowl, where British techno outfit 808 State and groundbreaking L.A. punk band X opened for electronic dance-pop pioneers New Order, was yet another example of how the boundaries between musical styles and genres are becoming increasingly smeared as the ‘90s wear on.

New Order’s performance made it clear why the band has survived for more than 13 years as a pioneering force in dance and alternative music. Combining traditional bass, drums and guitars with drum machine and samples, the headliners’ polite but powerful sound packs substance and feeling as well as the immediate, beat-driven adrenaline rush to fuel hot, sweaty discos.

Live, all these elements came together for a show that proved as consistent and successful as the band’s career. Bernard Sumner’s emotional but unassuming vocals, which at first were buried under the layers of music, had the zealous audience singing along. As on record, his throw-it-out-there-and-see-what-happens delivery added an imperfect and charming element to the often precise and organized mixes.

Generally, the songs came off so clean that the show sounded a lot like a collection of New Order’s best recordings turned up really loud. And in this band’s case, that’s good. It’s the planned subtleties, not spontaneity, that make its sound alluring and keep it an innovative band. New Order closed the show with its first hit “Blue Monday,” and like the rest of the set, it was perfectly executed and predictable--and totally warm and inviting.

Manchester’s 808 State kicked off the night with a mix of swirling samples and relentless beat, pumping out enough bass to blow your average rave-style party apart. The band warmed the often cold and calculated side of its mechanical sound with a live guitar, and at one point played a horn on stage. Though 808’s members stayed pretty stationary on stage, the pulsating music was enough to get things moving.

X sounded a bit tinny and thin at first only because the quartet’s organic thrashings of guitar, bass and drums followed 808’s monstrous barrage on the senses. But after a bumpy start, X began banging out tight slams of rootsy rock ‘n’ roll with a raw and gritty edge.

Singer Exene Cervenka flung herself about like a possessed rag doll while wailing full throttle in her infamous off-key tones. Cervenka’s bent harmonies ricocheted off and mingled with singer-bassist John Doe’s smooth, deep country style croons, but there was a new twist: Cervenka sort of sings now, so the chaotic vocal crescendos in older numbers sounded a bit tamer than in the band’s early days. Still, they hit hard. The songs from X’s new album, “Hey Zeus,” came off rich and full, while the older numbers, such as “Los Angeles,” sounded dated but were received as the band seemed to want them to be--as welcome blasts from the past.