Warm-up act hot, headliner not

It’s never a good sign when a band is one-upped by its opening act, but that happened to British ska-dance punk outfit the Dead 60s on Saturday at the Troubadour.

Hard Fi, from London, stomped its way through an inspired set that sounded quite a bit like early Clash -- even if the band looked rather like frat boys.

The Dead 60s, who arrived here on the heels of a minor radio hit, “Riot Radio,” followed with a flat set that was something of a mediocre pastiche of their fellow traveler bands: Franz Ferdinand without the style, Bloc Party without the energy, Kaiser Chiefs without the ambition.

All these bands trade in the angular guitars and disco beats of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, the Clash, Josef K and a whole scene of dancehall ska that thrived in the underbelly of the U.S. and the U.K. throughout the ‘80s.

And though the Dead 60s cannot be faulted for a lovely set of influences (or talented friends), they simply lacked authenticity.

At the core of the Clash’s music was a strongly anti-establishment political ethos. The sneer was directed at the Man -- or, perhaps in their case, “the Woman” (Margaret Thatcher). In the Dead 60s, front man Matt McManamon’s sneer didn’t seem to be directed at anything but a camera or a radio DJ. Which is all well and good, music being a business. Maybe he pulls it off some nights.

But when the songs are hollow, the attitude is aped and even the frat boys rock harder than the headliner, the 60s (or, more accurately, the early ‘80s) seem dead indeed.

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The Dead 60s

Where: Spaceland, 1717 Silver Lake Blvd., Silver Lake

When: 9 p.m. Friday

Price: $10

Contact: (323) 661-4380

Also

Where: Glass House, 200 W. 2nd St., Pomona

When: 7 p.m. Saturday

Price: $10

Contact: (909) 865-3389