NEW ORLEANS--Tuesday night (10/2), Black Eyed Peas [ tickets ] brought their "positivity" hip-hop to the city that Master P and the Cash Money Millionaires built.

For a packed House of Blues, the Los Angeles-based, three-man rap group worked hard to show that hip-hop needn't blindly worship money or mercilessly objectify women, and they made a lot of converts by keeping the audience dancing for well over an hour and a half, past 2:00 in the morning. At times, you could feel the main floor rippling under the force of hundreds of bouncing Nike sneakers and Teva sandals.

The trio of rappers--Will.i.am, Apl.de.Ap and Taboo--had with them a full band, consisting of drummer, guitarist, bassist and turntablist. Will.i.am, who sometimes struggles not to overshadow his fellow rappers, shared duties on keyboards with the bassist.

As in any successful partnership, the three men have clearly defined roles; this is even more evident during performance than on record. Will.i.am is the class-conscious clown--like a brainy Flavor Flav, or a character that Spike Lee would play in a movie. Dressed head-to-toe in suede-and-denim patchwork, he bounced like a stylish Raggedy Andy, contorting himself with the sole aim of entertaining the audience. Apl.de.Ap is the thoughtful wiseman, with his calm demeanor, lengthy dreadlocks and Fu Manchu facial hair. Taboo is the ninja b-boy, dressed in baggy white parachute pants and matching red sweater, bandana and rose-tinted glasses.

Alternating between the tally-ho camaraderie of the Three Musketeers and the burlesque goofiness of the Three Stooges, the group ran through material from their two albums, "Behind the Front" (1998) and "Bridging the Gap" (2000), both on Interscope. The songs "Weekends," "Get Original" and "Positivity" had the audience singing along, as did "Joints & Jam," especially each time its chorus (adopted from the theme to the movie "Grease") came around. The three rappers traded rhymes fluidly, never appearing overtly choreographed, even when they each took a moment to show off their breakdancing skills during the encore.

Fans of Black Eyed Peas' two albums will note how much subtlety the group forfeits when performing in concert. The female vocals that grace much of their albums were absent save for the occasional pre-recorded track, courtesy of the band's DJ. In the place of subtlety was tough, ska-tinged muscle. Ballads became anthems, and freestyle rapping sessions became exhaustive feats of endurance. The pointillist guitar riff of "Get Original" became metallic on stage, and the trio sang "Weekends" like one had already arrived.

The band's most recent single, "Request Line," prominently features singer Macy Gray, and Will.i.am did a fine comedic impression of her catwoman growl when it was required. Will.i.am had reason for his good mood: he just released a stellar solo debut album, "Lost Change," on the British label BBE Records. (Black Eyed Peas will enter the studio to record a third album at the end of this tour.)

Opening the show was hip-hop soul singer Mystic, who also had a full band. In fact, she had the equivalent of the Black Eyed Peas' musicians, plus a saxophonist (playing alto and soprano), a keyboardist and two female back-up singers. All in all, there were more people backing her than there were songs in her set.

Earthy and buxom, something of an urban hippie (translation: a Motorola-style text pager could be seen beneath her Janis Joplin-style frilly blouse), Mystic sang songs from her recently released debut album, "Cuts for Luck & Scars for Freedom" (JCor). Her songs (notably "Girlfriend Sistergirl," "The Gottas" and "The Life") have catchy melodies that suit her ability to rap mellifluously and sing soulfully.

Mystic shares Black Eyed Peas' social activism, but generally lacks their leavening humor. The audience accepted her invitation to join in on her uplifting choruses, but what folks wanted was a party, and that didn't begin until Will.i.am, Apl.de.ap and Taboo bounded on stage.