In a sign of things to come in 2011, Grouplove absolutely killed it on Friday night at The Troubadour, putting together easily one of the best local shows of the year. The show was completely sold out and there wasn’t a person in the house who wasn’t satisfied by the outfit’s 50-minute set.

About five minutes before their scheduled set time, KCRW host Chris Douridas came out and gave a stirring intro that fired up the crowd by labeling the band “the best live act out there.” Needless to say, the outfit didn’t disappoint. The group, who polished their chops opening last year for Florence and The Machine, sounded like cagey veterans and not neophytes who were playing their largest local headlining show to date.

The first song of the evening, “Don’t Stay Away,” had lots of energy and that was best demonstrated by it’s California-indie pop song that had not only the audience dancing, the but band members as well. Lead singer Christian Zucconi’s vocals sounded great and filled out the room nicely while Hannah Hooper’s dance moves and backing vocals helped set the tone.

One thing that defines what makes a great live is the level of energy they exert from the stage. Throughout every second of every song, Grouplove was playing like it was their last gig and were having so much fun, which spilled over the into the audience. The smiles on their faces were contagious and reached everyone from the people in front of the stage to the bleachers up top.

Although the venue’s sound was a bit off for the band’s liking, that doesn’t mean that it was distracting nor affected their set. They played a number of songs off their well-received EP, which was released in January, and a number of new ones that are going to be on their yet-to-be-released debut full-length. Standout tracks included “It’s Not A Photograph,” which had a great strumming intro with clapping by Hooper and more importantly a killer guitar solo, “Love Saves Your Soul,” which was the only track to feature Hooper on lead vocals and “Gold Coast,” which was a drawn out, bluesy number that featured Zucconi and guitarist Sean Gadd’s axe work.

When the band returned for an encore, the crowd was as into a show was I’ve ever seen in Los Angeles. The 500-plus-person crowd was clamoring for more when the show ended and were clearly disappointed that show came to what felt like an abrupt end. Though it’s still relatively early in 2011 (before festival season early), I can confidently say that Grouplove has the potential to be the next major breakout band from the area, also known as this year’s version of Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros.

Grouplove’s EP is available on Amazon, iTunes and any major retailer. Their tourdates are listed on their website, Grouplovemusic.com, and it will extend for the next month.