Cold War Kids get sweaty at R Bar

We have good news for anybody wondering what the Long Beach blues-punk Cold War Kids have been up to since releasing "Robbers & Cowards" in 2006. If their sort-of secret Friday show at R Bar in L.A.'s Koreatown was any indication, "Getting Awesomer" appeared to be pretty high on their '08 to-do list.

After a long run of theater and large club shows in the last couple of years, the quartet made judicious use of the cramped quarters, jerking across the stage with the conviction of a basement punk band. Which, not coincidentally, they're starting to sound more like; previews from their forthcoming album, "Loyalty to Loyalty," prove they've been re-discovering their old Fugazi records, which is always a good idea for any band at any level to do. Maybe it was just the room, but even staple cut "Saint John" seemed less of a righteous soul number and more of a bilious gutter lament. It's an exciting and visceral new sound for them. Photographer Jessica Gelt caught it up close, so see much more of it here.

-- August Brown

Photo gallery by Jessica Gelt/Los Angeles Times