POP MUSIC REVIEW : KROQ’s Karma Is <i> Deja Vu</i>

What were the three most important things about KROQ’s benefit Karma concert Saturday night at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre? The admission price (free), the social scene (plenty of concession booths and beer) and, oh yeah, the bands (Jennifer Trynin, the Goo Goo Dolls, Filter and Candlebox).

The mostly teen- and college-aged crowd spent much of its time trolling the expansive grounds while a lineup of supposedly alternative bands played to a half-filled house.

Who can really blame the wandering crowd, though? Most of the lineup wasn’t exactly what you’d call dynamic, or even slightly interesting.

Candlebox stood out simply because it seemed comfortable in its own skin, and never really adopted a ready-made persona like the rest of the evening’s bands (insta-Husker Du or Black Flag anyone?). The band played a charismatic but basic blend of heady guitar rock with little pretension or tortured poses.

Candlebox played songs from its upcoming album that felt less inhibited by the dark dictates of Seattle that it once followed. It openly played expressive melodies rooted in arena rock, and singer Kevin Martin let his gruffly sweet vocals soar.

Filter, on the other hand, proved the biggest disappointment, maybe because it is burdened with the biggest expectations. It was loud, screaming, abrasive and boring.

Trynin and the Goo Goo Dolls played the expected doses of tame, anonymous pop.

If Karma has anything to do with the musical side of this event, three of the acts will come back in their next life as trailblazing artists trapped in the frustratingly dull world of beer-sponsored rock.