Crystal Method’s energetic dancing stirs fans at the Bowl

The Crystal Method is in many respects the ideal ambassador for dance music right now. The duo’s high-energy performances, rock-infused beats and willingness to collaborate with mainstream artists have allowed it to reach out to fans outside the dance genre. That proved to be the case on Sunday at the Hollywood Bowl, where the team of Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland headlined a world electronica night, part of the KCRW World Festival series.

Extending the world-meets-electronica elements that had been showcased so effectively earlier in the show by Britain’s Nitin Sawheny and Sidestepper and Tijuana dance-music favorites Nortec Collective, the Crystal Method opened with its early hit “Trip Like I Do,” accompanied by a group of African percussionists and dancers.

As on their records, Jordan and Kirkland embraced the concept of collaborating, bringing out a hip-hop emcee to lead the crowd as the pair delivered the sinewy bass line of the menacing “Name of the Game” and ex-Kyuss frontman John Garcia to sing on the rock-like single “Born Too Slow,” from the recent “Legion of Boom” album.

The most effective collaboration came during another new track, “I Know It’s You,” on which Azam Ali’s primal vocals perfectly met the duo’s huge trance-like synthesizer lines.

When the duo wasn’t joined by guest vocalists, Kirkland was an effective host for the night, coming out from behind his keyboards during the disco-esque breaks of “Bound Too Long” to exhort the crowd to jump up and clap along.

Other highlights came from the seductive “Wild, Sweet, and Cool,” in which a soulful refrain merged into female house vocals; the frenetic pace of “Vapor Trail,” a song whose progressive synthesizer explosions seemed tailor-made for a huge arena; and the closing “Busy Child,” which again found the duo joined by the African ensemble.

As the lights came up during the feverish finale of the song, which was the pair’s first hit, fans were on their feet and dancing, from the tables directly in front of the stage to the benches at the very top of the venue.