It seemed like every place you went this summer you were bound to hear Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks”. With the runaway popularity of the song, the amount of airtime it received, and the band members’ pretty boy looks, it would be easy to think that the band is some one-hit wonder conglomeration of a record label.

However, last night’s shows at 9:30 Club demonstrated that they are anything but some spit-shined, dolled up boy band. Their catchy songs are brought to a new level with the band’s dynamic and focused playing style. It was not long before lead singer Mark Foster was soaked in sweat as he skipped, rotated and jitterbugged his way around the stage during the first two songs. He slightly slowed his pace with a choir boy-like falsetto on “I Would Do Anything for You”, daring the ladies to crush hard as he emoted, “I’ve fallen in love, and it’s better this time than I’ve ever known.”

Meanwhile, one of the best small moments of the show was when keyboardist/percussionist/background vocalist Isom Innis left his seat in front of the piano to dance wildly during a 15-second break in “Call It What You Want” before hurrying back to his post to continue the song.

During the encore, the band introduced a new piano-driven ballad, “Ruby”, an enormous departure from the usual fast-paced, catchy songs that people have come to expect. The song significantly slowed the pace right before their big hit, lowering the audience’s enthusiasm to a slow simmer. Fortunately, they were saved at the halfway point when opening band Reptar came on stage to blow out the show as they moved between club beat and guitar rock-driven rounds of the chorus.

There were some moments when the show floundered — banterless gaps between songs as the band gathered itself, and the garbled, but sweet, discussion of the band’s community service efforts in each town it visits. But it’s that gentle awkwardness, paired with the band’s hard-to-match energy, that makes them likable despite their meteoric rise and mass appeal.