Last night DCist ventured north to Charm City for a three band lineup made in blogger heaven. L.A.’s Cold War Kids, Denmark’s Figurines and Minnesota’s Tapes ‘n Tapes brought the music that all the indie kids have been gushing about to a great little club called Fletcher’s. The review in 20 words or less: Cold Ware Kids were really, really good. Figurines were not. Tapes ‘n Tapes pretty much rocked.

Fletcher’s is a tiny (probably a quarter the size of the Black Cat) club in Fell’s Point (or at least, very near Fell’s Point — I’m not much of a whiz on Baltimore geography). It’s wee-sized and under-capacity crowd made the show incredibly intimate and the bands incredibly accesible. It was surprising and fun for bands on the rise to actually feel that way live, considering they’ve been selling out New York’s Bowery Ballroom and the like. Perhaps it’s an indication that Baltimore residents spend less time reading Stereogum than we do, but it made for a very pleasant evening (in contrast to, say, other blog-friendly bands on their first big tour.) I love D.C. and its music venues, but our neighbors to the north provided a much-appreciated change of pace.

Of the three bands, the best went first, turning playground maxims on their ears. Cold War Kids deal in a raw, rich sound that I imagine was born out of countless nights in an L.A. apartment fueled by brown liquor, Bob Dylan, ADD, Nirvana and the blues. They play their songs with a level of intensity and dedication that a lot of more polished acts leave behind, but it’s what really sells the Cold War Kids. They’re constantly moving to the unpredictable rhythms provided by drummer Matt Aveiro — or from the empty Pellegrino bottle that occasionally lent itself to the percussion section. The charging piano and kinetic bass support the vocals that simultaneously emote, haunt and rock. These guys definitely have room to grow, but their music reaches out and grabs you, and that’s a pretty great place to start.