Kevin Bronson on July 27th, 2017

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Foster the People released their third album, “Sacred Hearts Club,” last Friday, but the hordes who descended on the L.A. quartet’s free show on Tuesday night at Club Bahia got a different Sacred Hearts Club.

Rather than showcase the effervescent pop on the new album, Mark Foster and gang unleashed their punk/post-punk selves, playing a quick-hitting set that followed opening blasts by two local punk bands, Wild Wing and the Paranoyds. And pardon our surprise, but Foster the People were completely convincing as Joy Division.

If the many who stood in line for hours — some since daybreak — for the free show were disappointed, it didn’t show (shocked that the headliners played only 30 minutes, maybe.) The band has been doing these Sacred Hearts Club nights in various U.S. cities, Mexico City and London as “a way of providing a cool and safe place for kids, be exposed to great art, and have a good time.”

Backed by the neon “Sacred Hearts Club” sign found on the album cover, the band played as a straight-up punk-rock four-piece, starting with “Lotus Eater” off the new album before segueing into the Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop,” which ignited the young audience. After a quick pause, they delivered a faithful and devastating rendition of Joy Division’s “Transmission,” following it with a prickly take on “Beginners Guide to Destroying the Moon,” from Foster’s second album “Supermodel.”

Then they went deep, playing a supercharged version “Eisbaer,” a 1980 song from the Swiss post-punk/New Wave band Grauzone. The caustic was turned up to 11. The band finished with “Don’t Stop” from their 2011 debut “Torches.”

Then they exited the stage, with the crowd expecting more. Instead, a DJ starting laying down some more post-punk.

Next time, we’ll wear black.