Fluff triumphs

The Black Eyed Peas’ Will.I.Am (a.k.a. William Adams) pulled rap-mate apl.de.ap (Allen Pineda) to center stage at the Greek Theatre during the group’s concert Thursday and proudly noted that the latter had stood on that same stage in 1993 to graduate from nearby Marshall High School.

“It feels good to say that,” Will.I.Am enthused.

That was just one of the sweet hometown highlights of the show. There was also East L.A.-born rapper Taboo (Jaime Gomez) detouring into Spanish and unfurling a Mexican flag, apl.de.ap tapping his roots by rapping in Filipino to the cheers of family and friends, and Will.I.Am noting after a break-dancing display that he used to get in trouble for doing that but now his mom, who was at the show Thursday, couldn’t do anything about it.

Those moments were all in extracurricular side trips, not in the actual fabric of the evening. Arguably, this show marked another graduation -- one marking completion of the group’s transition from earnest, meaningful art to pure, inconsequential entertainment. It’s a move that started in full force with the hit 2003 album “Elephunk” (for which singer Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson came on board as a full-time member and such guests as Justin Timberlake turned up) and continued on the new, even poppier “Monkey Business” album.

That’s nothing against the quality of the entertainment, which was, well, very entertaining. The four principals seemed constantly in motion, flowing in and out of choreographed sync; the vocal interplay was at times top-notch -- the frisky opening duo of “Hey Mama” and “Smells Like Funk” came off like sped-up tag-team reggae toasting. Songs from the new album all sounded brighter and more dynamic than the recorded versions, thanks in no small part to the strong play of the four-man backing band.

And a few moments reminded that this was once an act of substance in league with fellow L.A. rap crew Jurassic 5. The Peas’ post-9/11 plea “Where Is the Love” still stands out for its simple eloquence. And Adams still exuded enough smarts to ground the cartoonishness.

But another moment in particular burst the bubble Thursday. Following a sassy performance of “Shut Up,” Will.I.Am grabbed an acoustic guitar, stood on a raised platform behind the band and offered an excerpt from Bob Marley’s heartfelt “No Woman No Cry.” Except he didn’t really play the guitar. He just mimicked, while band member George Pajon Jr. stood behind a stack of amps and played the actual guitar part.

Why did this musician, once known as a paragon of authenticity, feel the need to pretend to play the guitar? Why not just skip the charade and have Pajon play it in full view?

Those are questions raised in the topsy-turvy world of the Black Eyed Peas, where substance has been overtaken by fluff, where too often the music and presentation pandered to a lowest-common-denominator appeal (building “Pump It” around Dick Dale’s already overused “Miserlou” surf instrumental).

Is this a group that has made a Faustian deal for pop success? Or is it merely one that has run out of fresher ideas? When they embraced higher artistic standards, of course, no one paid much attention to them, so who knows?

And while we’re asking questions, what’s the deal with using “Let’s Get It Started” at the end of the show?