COOL AS ICE: those who stayed to the end of the FNX bash were treated to a surging set from Denmark's Raveonettes.

A week ago last Tuesday, at WFNX’s "Alter-nativity" show, the little local station that could (and the Phoenix’s corporate sister) demonstrated the truth of "Less is more" by doing away with the overkill of a sprawling multi-venue celebration in favor of healthy sampling of some of modern rock’s tastiest offerings under one roof at the Paradise. The independent station also included a substantial portion of local treats, creating a well-rounded event. The combination of established acts and local up-and-comers proved that Boston artists are capable of standing toe to toe with internationally established acts when it comes to putting on a good show.

By using both the Paradise’s main room and the club’s more intimate Paradise Lounge, WFNX created plenty of time and space for the seven acts that shared the five-hour event. There was a steady ebb and flow of fans between the two stages, with those who stayed on to the final act being rewarded with a surging set from the Raveonettes, a duo from Denmark whose cool delivery brought to mind a modern-day Lou Reed and Nico fronting a powerful, guitar-fueled outfit. Setting the stage for the band (an additional guitarist and a drummer have been brought on board for their current US tour) were Radio Four, a punkish NYC-based outfit whose Gang of Four–style attack has given way to less strident grooves that recall the Sandinista-era Clash and the club-inflected beats of Mick Jones’s Big Audio Dynamite.

Dressed all in black and projecting an icy sense of detachment, the Raveonettes were equal parts style and substance. Dark-hued guitars churned atop piles of sampled beats and pounding drums that anchored simmering melodies as warm as the duo’s demeanor was cold. The more down-to-earth boys in Radio Four also relied on a complex percussive attack as they launched wave upon wave of serrated guitars from a backdrop of syncopated club beats. On one of the more disco-fied numbers, guitars gave way to keyboards, and that afforded the set some diversity.

If Gang of Four have become a less obvious influence on Radio Four, then Read Yellow picked up the slack with their frenetic performance. The Amherst-based band, whose homonymous debut EP was released by the local Fenway Recordings earlier this year, relied on a razor-sharp guitar attack and a muscular rhythm section to make their point. They went off like a musical firecracker in the Lounge and kept the energy level high for the duration of their set, and they were every bit as compelling as the big room’s headliners.

The evening’s one scheduling snafu occurred when the local band Loveless — a relatively new entity fronted by Expanding Man’s Dave Wanamaker and featuring Jennifer Trynin on guitar — commanded a near-capacity crowd in the Lounge with grabbing guitar grooves and Wanamaker’s tough vocals while the lesser-known Swedish band Mando Diao struggled to get people’s attention in the big room. By the time Loveless were done and the crowd (including myself) returned to the main stage, Mando Diao’s melodic guitar-fueled set was almost over. What followed was the turntablist-with-vocals stylings of Audio Bully, a duo who seemed a little out of their element on this mostly guitar-based rock bill. Nevertheless, they did use club beats to create recognizable songs with, at times, rockist leanings.

The opening slot went to the local band Apollo Sunshine, a trio who pray at the Elephant Six altar with their avant-retro, slightly dissonant take on classic pop. They’ve already snagged a deal with spinArt for their debut release, Katonah (see Brett Milano’s profile in "Cellars by Starlight"), and though their oddball delivery is something of an acquired taste, their hooks have been sharpened by all the touring they’ve done to support the new album. At the rate they’re developing, don’t be surprised if they’re headlining events like this by the end of 2004.