By the time hometown favorites Dishwalla hit the rustic stage at the Santa Barbara County Bowl Friday night for a special Earth Day show, the vibe had already changed from the early evening. Gone were most of the black-clad eccentrics who had come to this Pacific Mecca to worship Perry Farrell and Porno for Pyros, whose one hour set was sandwiched between Summercamp and the headliners. Gone were the flowers and lights that adorned the stage for Farrell's musical circus. Also missing from Dishwalla's brand of concerned pop was the kind of deeper meaning Farrell brings to the stage.

\par \par There's no doubt about it -- this Santa Barbara, Calif., band known for questioning God's gender in the single "Counting Blue Cars" cares about the world. They care about the planet, and they care about politics. Frontman J.R. Richards got that point across with force and abandon on songs like "Give" and "Charlie Brown's Parents," which is about communication breakdowns, effectively bringing the message-heavy alt-rock of "Pet Your Friends" to a crowd of Santa Barbara-ites easy to sway along. He also sprinkled the set with predictable comments about the environment before launching into a song about one of his bandmate's "first wet dream." And even though few could have doubted his sincerity, Dishwalla came across a little like Live -- proficient but not prophetic.

\par \par The show did have its moments, though. After thanking the familiar faces in the audience -- presumably those who'd seen them play local bars doing '80s covers since the early '90s -- the band broke into Soft Cell's "Tainted Love." Then Dishwalla, which takes its name from a band of Indian nomads who install satellite dishes in impoverished villages, played the Beatles' Indian-influenced "Across the