Cold War Kids perform for sweaty, excited OC fans

Sweaty. Loaded crowd. Scattered music sheets by the piano. An assortment of bohemian instruments ready to make the room burst. And then, four awkward figures dancing in a messy-but-synchronized dance across a stripped-down stage.

These were the Cold War Kids, the soulful, blues-infected indie rock band of blossoming fame out of Long Beach, who performed at the low-keyed, 500-seat Samueli Theater of the swanky Orange County Performing Artscenter in Costa Mesa on March 27.

Going through such a charged atmosphere, ears are probably still ringing with the Cold War Kids' noisy rock and distinctive approach.

The quartet rung into its set with the piano-laced "Avalanche," inspiring an intimate mood that set the tone of the night.

Singer Nathan Willett impressed with a perfected act of multitasking, belting out over the piano with a guitar slung around his belly. His skinny voice, roaring with rambunctious strength, matched the funk guitarist Jonnie Russell and bassist Matt Maust were getting into mid-stage. The Kids stomped around as if it was their first time performing before such an excited audience.

The band was invited to perform the third installment of the Artcenter's Off Center music series, which has also been headlined by other indie bands like Peter Bjorn and John, and The Walkmen since the series debut in January, and will conclude on April 24 with a show by the Huntington Beach crooner Matt Costa.

And, in fact, the Cold War Kids have not performed in the OC area since December 2006 - perhaps the reason why the audience was best at absorbing every bell, sloppy hop or adoring inch of the band's admirable attentiveness.

By the third song in the band's set, the energy tilted as an audience member hanging out on the VIP balcony called out a song request. In Cold War Kids' grand fashion, Willet darted back like a quick waiter, "You tell me what you want, baby. This is your time."

The band proceeded exploring its songbook of favorites, like the windy "We Used to Vacation," the rattling "Pass the Hat," and other classics like "Hospital Beds" and the crowd-pleasing "Hang Me Up to Dry."

Special moments swelled this already high-voltage ceremony when the band played the slow, pensive "God, Make Up Your Mind" - another one of those classics from the band's 2007 record, "Robbers and Cowards." A banner draped over the stage with lyrics from the song, reading "100 Years of Solitude, Yet Only 12-Years-Old."

The band also weaved a few new songs into its set - "Mexican Dogs" and "Occupation" - which is always risky, especially when you know the audience will remain motionless and quiet to foreign material.

I was also expecting a longer introduction by Maust's smoky bass guitar on "Hang Me Up to Dry." But in absence to hearing that rugged, wrinkly hook I adore so much on the record, I fixated on Maust's Dr. Seuss-like hairdo while he fixated on a wild fangirl raging in an intense dance of sweat in the front row.

And unlike what many YouTube clips reveal, the Cold War Kids did not flood the stage in Wu Tang Clan fashion. The boys looked nice in their suits and ties (which were loosened up by the end of the second song, of course) and made room for their famous friends in the hour-long pre-show soiree happening in the OCPAC lobby.

A mysterious DJ Neil Clemmons kept in his balcony corridors as he injected smooth songs from his vinyl collection, infusing music with Matt Wignall's (the Cold War Kids' staff photographer) photo show happening down below.

A mingling of Huntington Beach hipsters and those glossy Newport kids got a chance to shine their own aesthetic at nearby photo booth.

But one thing's for sure: The excitement and electric ambience left everyone sweaty by the end of the night.