Australia’s electronic indie band Architecture in Helsinki landed at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium last night, flooding the dance floor with infectious grooves.  This show was a part of a long tour that has spanned most of the year in support of Moment Bends, which was released in April.

Before taking the stage the crowd had filled the room and were eagerly waiting for the party to begin. Wehn the chandelier lights went black, the group wasted no time bringing out the audience’s dance moves as they did their best impression of The B-52’s with their song “Hold Music.” The crowd was feeding off of the energy of the band as Kellie Sutherland and Cameron Bird danced all over the stage.

The crowd hung onto every song that caused them to dance their asses off, not that they had any choice in the matter. As much fun as they were having to these tunes, at the same time, they also were disinterested in any songs that lacked the danceable elements such as “I Know Deep Down” off of their latest release and the instrumental “Rendezvous: Portrero Hill” off of their 2005’s In Case We Die. Fortunately for fans, Architecture in Helsinki played songs mostly off their last two releases.

Sutherland and Bird took turns holding down center stage. It was interesting to see how different the vibe changed from when each singer took the spotlight. Sutherland owned the stage and caused the crowd to throw their arms in the air during “That Beep,” while Bird was more eccentric in his approach, dancing with his black sunglasses on as performed the more strange songs such as “Debbie.” The only point during the show where I didn’t enjoy Sutherland leading was during “W.O.W.” Her vocals on this track remind me of any over produced pop vocals that you can find on your local top 40 radio stations.

Bird introduced “Contact High” as “a song about how much we love California.” The fans sang along to this and also to the anthemic “Escapee.” After performing for over an hour, they exited the stage and left the crowd wanting more. The duo returned to encore with “It’5!,” which started with Bird screaming “Stranger Danger” and then entered into the whimsical song.

Before this show, I had only seen Architecture in Helsinki play a toned down set at Amoeba Records. Seeing their show in full force was a lot more fun than I was expecting. As they finished their set, Bird told everyone that following this tour they would be taking some time off to write new music and to expect to see them back next year and that can’t come soon enough.

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Be sure to catch them live before they finish up their tour

11/4/11   Rio Theatre • Santa Cruz, CA

11/5/11   El Plaza Condesa • Mexico City, MX

11/6/11   Fun Fun Fun Fest • Austin, TX

11/7/11   Fitzgerald's • Houston, TX

11/9/11   Club Downunder • Tallahassee, FL

11/10/11 Crowbar • Tampa, FL

11/11/11 Grand Central • Miami, FL

11/12/11 Masquerade • Atlanta, GA

11/14/11 Cat's Cradle • Carrboro, NC

11/15/11 9:30 Club • Washington DC

11/16/11 Union Transfer • Philadelphia, PA

11/17/11 Royale • Boston, MA

11/18/11 Irving Plaza • New York, NY

11/19/11 Alfred University • Alfred, NY

11/20/11 Oberlin College • Oberlin, OH

11/21/11 Metro • Chicago, IL

11/22/11 Macalester College • St Paul, MN

Photos (c) Dan Cordie