Staring intently at the crowd, Cold War Kids bassist Matt Maust performs with the band at The Showbox on September 30. Photo by Nick Feldman.After getting psyched on Rainn Wilson’s suggestion back in the spring, I dove headfirst into Cold War Kids, and I haven’t looked back. Seeing them at The Showbox was a perfect culmination of the whirlwind that recent release Loyalty to Loyalty has been; the venue was outright fitting for the band and it’s performance, and a sold-out crowd agreed. As a side note, I’ve actually never been harassed for extra tickets before entering a venue quite like I was for this show. Whereas Sasquatch! and The Gorge seemed a little large (my last chance to see the SoCal quartet), The Kids commanded a presence that blew the roof off of the 1st Avenue venue. Every song sounded beautiful, crooned expertly by Nathan Willett and improvised to the perfect degree. I heard “Hang Me Out to Dry,” “We Used to Vacation” and “Robbers” from Robbers and Cowards in addition to more recent creations such as “Every Man I Fall For,” “Every Valley is not a Lake” and (of course) smash-hit “Something Is Not Right With Me.”It was a truly enjoyable performance, and the live act brought an entirely new energy and dynamic to an already complex sound that made it impossible not to enjoy. The crowd wasn’t too rowdy (or drunk), the sound quality was excellent and the venue staff even seemed to be in good moods. For a Monday night show, all of the pieces seemed to have fallen into place.