Maybe Radish's Columbia, S.C., concert was too close to frontman Ben Kweller's bedtime -- he is only 15 years old, after all -- but geez mom, it *was* Saturday night. Still, one didn't even need to see the band's entire 30-minute, seven-song set to figure out that there's little behind all the hype surrounding this group (which included a 10-page piece in The New Yorker last month) besides Kweller's age. That and the fact that drummer John Kent is 17 (bassist Bryan Blur is the old man of the group at 29).

\\Aside from that novelty, which proved mildly entertaining for a few minutes, Radish's Saturday show failed to suggest there was anything remotely special about their music -- competent but utterly conventional modern rock fare. Though Kweller was in the driver's seat during Radish's lively but predictable performance, he didn't really have anywhere to go besides neo-grunge poses and by-the-book bubblegum angst. "Dear Aunt Arctica," for example, veered a little too close to Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box," while a catchy new composition, "Panamanian Girl," sounded a bit like a Lemonheads outtake.

\\There were signs of hope for Radish's future. "Little Pink Stars," the album's -- and concert's -- best song, was given a muscular, jubilant treatment before Kweller deconstructed its classic power-pop melody with a squealing, thrashing guitar solo. But too often, Radish came across as another bunch of guys who have taken their cues from the too-narrow alt-rock playlists of modern rock radio and MTV. Once you took away the fleeting novelty of his age, Kweller's music sounded as nondescript as his brown