The gathered students of Western Washington University provide a sharp contrast to the edgy throng in Vancouver. In between sets by opening acts Bangs and Hovercraft, the crowd actually takes cross-legged seats on the floor of Viking Union's boxy main lounge. This show, for a change, is hardly a sellout. There's plenty of room. One young woman walks past in an Oak Ridge Boys T-shirt. Carrie tries to win them over before the band even starts. "I used to go to Western," she says, "for about a month." She says she saw a show here. Approving murmurs ensue. Murmurs. OK, if they won't be charmed, amaze 'em. The third song of the set, a new one called "The End of You," is becoming a performance highlight -- again, thanks to pyrotechnic percussion from Janet. "Heart Factory" again is a knockout. But the response for these highlights is restrained, almost nonexistent. Sleater-Kinney looks into the audience and sees ... people staring back, mute and motionless. Despite a muddy sound system, the band closes with a powerful one-two punch, a thunderous "Call the Doctor" and the ever infectious "Little Babies." These folks have got their money's worth, even if they hardly seem to comprehend what they've just seen. The encore starts with a slow song from The Hot Rock called "A Quarter to Three." It appears that a still-ailing Corin ripped her throat out during the incendiary "Call the Doctor." Carrie comes to the rescue with a pensive solo authored with crystalline ease. After that, it's "Words and Guitar" and on the road. But the strangest moment of a not-very-punk night comes when the band returns for its encore. Carrie steps to the mike and states, apropos of nothing, "On our way north, we were listening to Dan Fogelberg, who writes these cool songs, cool lyrics." Dan Fogelberg? The laid-back sentimentalist Dan Fogelberg? She can't be serious. Can she? The students, standing stock-still in unison, think it over ...