Now that alternative rock radio has adopted Top 40 style playlists, one-night festivals with several bands makes perfect sense. Short sets allow each band to play its hit single, without the embarrassment of trying to pad enough material into a full length-set. Who would want to listen to the Fun Lovin' Criminals for more than a half-hour anyway?

Seattle's KNDD "Deck the Hall Ball" crammed seven bands into six-hours at the sold-out Mercer Arena. The diverse line-up included the Eels, Fun Lovin' Criminals, Luscious Jackson, Super Deluxe, Silverchair, Presidents of the United States of America and Orbital.

Kicking things off were the Eels, who turned in one of the night's best sets. Their catchy single, "Novocaine for the Soul," only hints at the band's depth. Pop hooks are hidden behind clever lyrics, creative instrumentation and buzz-saw guitars. An exciting live act as well, the Eels are a good bet to headlining these kind of shows shortly. FLC did not fare as well. Warmed-over funk and unintelligible raps lost the audience early. "Scooby Snacks" has a fun comic criminal vibe to it, but was the only highlight of their short set.

In sharp contrast, Stabbing Westward stormed the stage, making a splashy entrance through clouds of dry ice. While often over-the-top, Westward brought a genuine sense of venom to their material. A theatrical, Reznor-like frontman, Christopher Hall stalked the stage, hurling out epithets and threats between songs. Industrial grooves and bursts of feedback created a sense of metallic mayhem.

Though Luscious Jackson brought some much-needed diversity to a testosterone-heavy bill, they did little more than show up. Appearing bemused to be playing an arena, after an initial call-and-response bit failed, they sleep-walked through a few songs before wandering off. Next up, an unannounced appearance by local heroes Branden Blake and John Kirsch of Super Deluxe. The duo, in perfect harmony as always, offered unrehearsed, acoustic takes on "Years Ago" and "Famous."

In what was billed as their only North American performance this year, Silverchair were who the crowd had come to see. If nothing else, the teenage trio proved they can sound just like any mediocre grunge band twice their age. They opened with an ear-splitting thrash guitar instrumental that showed off plenty of chops -- but with nothing behind them. While clearly an accomplished guitarist, Daniel Johns' song's lack any depth or originality. Live, his singing voice reveals his age, though he has obviously graduated from Rock Star 101, striking poses and engaging in Spinal Tap stage banter. They stomped through their hits, but more interesting was a new track, "Cemetery," which Johns performed solo.

The Presidents write goofy anthems that play just as well in arenas as they did in the local clubs the band was playing not all that long ago. Though plagued by technical problems -- Chris broke the strap for his Flying V guitar on the first song -- the Presidents were even more energetic than usual. Squeezing off 14 songs about bugs and outer-space in less than 45 minutes, including nonsensical, feel-good hits "Lump" and "Volcano," they brought the mosh pit to a frenzy.

Closing the night were Orbital, a two-man English techno outfit pushing the limits of their genre. Though the mainstream rock crowd didn't know what to make of them, their sonic explora