KROQ CONCERT PROVIDES FANS A MERRY LITTLE BRITPOP XMAS.

Byline: Bill Hetherman Staff Writer

The 2004 KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas weekend at the Universal Amphitheatre provided a stocking packed with nuggets. You'd be hard-pressed to recall a lineup more potent than Saturday's. Fueling the fire were British invaders the Muse, the Music, Franz Ferdinand and Keane.

The Muse is probably the most talented alt-rock trio since the Police. Singer Matthew Bellamy and company delivered what was arguably the best performance of the two-day affair with ``Time is Running Out.''

Keane also does it with three members, although not quite as well. Their standouts included ``Everybody's Changing'' and ``This is the Last Time.'' Late-arriving fans missed the high-energy of the Music and its high-voltage highlight, ``Breakin.''

Although outdone, American bands didn't give too much ground. The Killers, Modest Mouse, Interpol and top-billed Jimmy Eat World - kicking off with 2001's ``Bleed American'' - maintained momentum.

Even the quirky Shins, with slow-tempo tunes ``New Slang'' and ``Caring Is Creepy,'' kept the crowd happily agitated.

Sunday's finale starring Green Day took in the band's new ``American Idiot'' album. Hearing the trio's ``Boulevard of Broken Dreams'' on the radio is one thing, but seeing frontman Billy Joe Armstrong perform the stirring song on stage was mesmerizing.

Sunday also had a surprise in store when guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland, the ``other two'' former members of the Police, joined Incubus singer Brandon Boyd for a medley of Police hits. Incredibly, Boyd's vocals nearly duplicated Sting's on ``Roxanne'' and ``Message in a Bottle.''