Dancing Half the Night Away at the Palladium

If there were any doubts about the business of live dance events, they should be put to rest by the results of Friday’s show at the Hollywood Palladium, where five of the hottest acts in alternative dance took to the stage for an all-star--albeit early--evening of thunderous beats, proving that electronic performances can be live and lucrative.

The Palladium was sold out and swaying like a rush-hour MTA bus. And this for an event that with a midnight curfew--unheard of in the wee-hour realm of dance music. The drivers included hometown headliners Crystal Method, along with the up-and-coming Propellerheads and “epic houser” BT--all live--and big beaters Fatboy Slim and David Holmes along with trance-meister Taylor on the turntables.

In many ways, the evening was the antithesis of the dance-till-dawn rave scene that brought us this music in the first place. The place had the electricity of a Cheap Trick concert circa 1979, the VIP area saw more industry heads than a KROQ-FM Weenie Roast concert, and people were giving more face time to cell phones than lollipops.

The deejaying by Ireland’s Holmes (whose “Let’s Get Killed” was one of the best dance albums of 1997), England’s Fatboy Slim and Southern California’s own Taylor seemed clipped. Slim, a.k.a. Norman Cook, spun a flawless set of his own greatest hits and remixes, but he rammed it through the sound system like a mega-mix medley. Likewise, the symphonic, long-winding “epic house” and big beats of Washington, D.C.’s BT (a.k.a. Brian Transeau) were jammed into a half-hour. His music, like that of all the artists, unfolds as an emotional journey that can levitate until daybreak.

The Propellerheads’ hourlong set ripped the place apart. The English duo is on the verge of breaking in the U.S. with its forthcoming DreamWorks album, “Decksanddrumsandrockandroll,” which features pop lyricism, raps by De La Soul and the Jungle Brothers and enough mad break-beats to make the Prodigy nervous. And they can play live, thumbing the electric bass and spanking the drums with more stamina than Moby.

Of course the Crystal Method delivered--it always does. The hometown duo programs break-beats and techno noise like God delivers thunder. And the group’s frequent flier miles have paid off in a polished, synth-thrashing show that evolves like “Space Odyssey’s” HAL and is as rock ‘n’ roll as a Jerry Lee Lewis concert.

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But the abbreviated performances hurt the quality of the event (which started at 7 p.m.), even if the crowded marquee sold tickets. Certainly the promoters molded a new market out of crossover dance fans who are KROQ listeners with open minds. But the 4,400-capacity Palladium seemed devoid of core rave kids.

The Crystal Method and the Propellerheads could have gone it alone. Even better, the two could have been followed by longer deejay sets well into the a.m. (at a different venue, of course)--a mix that would have showcased the magic of turntable tapestry and attracted a wider audience.

Someone has to stand up to the divisive intolerance of pop culture and say, “Rocker, meet raver. Raver, meet hip-hopper.” In a way, the music at hand is doing this. But the modern dance event must also represent diversity and realness. We’d all be richer for it.