POP MUSIC REVIEWS : Lolla-gal-ooza! : Second Stage: Dirty Three, Mike Watt and Pavement were only reasons to make trek away from main stage.

Lollapalooza’s second stage was located so far from the rest of Monday’s extravaganza at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, arriving there felt like having been sentenced to some sort of dusty, hot purgatory.

Many of ‘Palooza’s teen-age concertgoers didn’t even know the stage existed--it was nestled in the comfortable setting of a stony dirt lot surrounded by a chain-link fence--and rumors even circulated that you needed a special pass to get in.

But aside from punk-rock god Mike Watt, Australia’s largely unknown Dirty Three and a surprise appearance by main-stage act Pavement, the puzzled fans didn’t miss much.

Lollapalooza’s second stage--designed to showcase lesser-known artists--also featured Versus, Blonde Redhead, the Roots and Hum. The lineup illustrated that even today’s most experimental bands are no more than anonymous faces in the alternative-rock crowd.

Husker Du and Sonic Youth disciples are becoming as plentiful as Aerosmith wanna-bes in the ‘80s, but because the underground music is sonically daring in nature, bands can sound superficially interesting even when they’re not doing anything unique. The missing elements were readily apparent over an afternoon of these bands on the second stage.

All the reverb magic in the world can’t hide a weak personality, and few bands emerged as individual, passionate or original. Versus, Blonde Redhead and Hum all played competent, distorted guitar-rock that offered little beyond the initial rush of blaring ampage, while the old-school, almost freestyle sound of hip-hop’s the Roots fell into a pleasant yet edge-less void.

The day’s discovery was the Dirty Three, a violin-powered trio whose Eastern European melodies gradually snowballed into maniacal cacophonies. The disheveled band (violinist Warren Ellis resembled a mad professor before the set was through), playing to a sparse, early-afternoon crowd, emanated the same banshee spirit, soul and raging passion of the Pogues. The bass-less band was so dynamic that it even took a while to realize that its set was completely instrumental.

Bassist and seminal punk-rock figure Watt turned out a tight set of jazz-based punk jams while harping on and reminiscing about the ‘70s between and during songs.

Watt, formerly of the Minutemen and Firehose, drew the biggest crowd, probably due to his legendary status and to Eddie Vedder’s participation on Watt’s recent solo debut album. Watt’s pure power brought the stage alive once again, pulling fans away from Pavement on the main stage.

Overall, the second stage rang of interesting yet aimless music that proved as empty as the term alternative-rock itself has become.