Cold War Kids Music Group

Back in July, the Long Beach-based soul-punk quartet Cold War Kids played a semi-secret show at R Bar, a windowless, nautically themed club in Koreatown. The young and besotted crowd climbed over tables, chairs and the bar in hopes of getting a better view of the band bobbing on the floor. Singer Nathan Willett held court with righteous wails, while behind him bassist Matt Maust, drummer Matthew Aveiro and guitarist Jonathan Russell prowled the floor as if looking for a fistfight.