Cold War Kids played the area twice last weekend, Friday night at the Middle East Downstairs, and Saturday at Northampton’s Pearl Street Nightclub. Both shows sharply contrasted with the California-based indie rockers’ gig at Great Scott last fall, most notably in terms of the crowd. The Great Scott show felt like a house party, complete with technical glitches that the small-but-dedicated crowd, most of whom probably read about the band on an MP3 blog, or saw them open for Tapes ‘N Tapes last spring, happily ignored. After addiction to Cold War Kids set in following their last stint in the area, Bostonist was dragged to the band’s sold-out gigs – hence the weekend o’ Cold War Kids.

The sweaty, lyric-belting crowds at the Middle East and Pearl Street seemed younger, though no less enthusiastic than the audience at Great Scott – a group of awkwardly hip pre-teens steadfastly attempting to ignore their chaperoning father nearby. They were a reminder of the quick spike in fame the band has seen in the past six months (even a mention on MTV news the other day), since they released their debut album, “Robbers and Cowards” (V2/Downtown Records), and an indication that any Pitchfork-influenced, backlash has not taken root.

The fall show also had a deliciously frantic, anything-goes sort of feel, while last weekend’s polished performances adhered faithfully to a firm set list. The foursome burned through their higher energy tunes – “Hang Me Up to Dry,” and “Saint John,” for example – perhaps too quickly, building up crowd energy that then had no outlet as the band eased through a string of slower numbers (two of the nearby pre-teens darted into a dark corner to make out at this point). Openers Delta Spirit and Tokyo Police Club joined in for a frenzied onstage party on “Saint John” – it was kindergarten music class meets drunken marching band practice, in a good way.

Two newly enjoyable facets: they’ve mastered the art of successful song segways, and incorporated some ambitious covers into their repertoire, including Tom Waits’ “Dirt In the Ground,” and Sam Cooke’s, “A Change Is Gonna Come.” The former made for an intriguing introduction to “Hospital Beds,” the latter a much-needed enlivened encore.

The catalytic focal point was, as always, lead singer Nathan Willett’s wholehearted ability to squeeze every ounce of emotion from their songs and saturate the audience with it. Cold War Kids’ songs, full of thumping, clanging stomps, make you forget he’s covering some serious topics – alcoholism, hospital stays – but his voice, full of imperative honesty and half-shouted pleading, does not. It’s a comforting mainstay, regardless of any ups and downs of the music world that the band may face.

Opener Delta Spirit is a band to watch – “People, Turn Around!” their soulful, country-fried closer is instantly infectious, begging for raised lighters and swaying sing-a-longs.

Caitlin E. Curran contributed this review. Image from Cold War Kids website.