As soon as the red curtains of the Fonda Theatre stage opened, Mikky Ekko forewent the usual duty as opening act and instantaneously reached the show’s climax. The mediocre-sized crowd at the Hollywood Boulevard venue flocked to Ekko’s high-pitched vocals as if his mess of curly hair had its own gravitational pull. His energetic song list, gaining approval from every female attendee, included “Smile,” “Love You Crazy,” “Watch Me Rise” and “Riot.”

Despite the seemingly endless break between acts, Broods, the brother-sister duo from New Zealand, had no problem maintaining the atmosphere that Ekko had set. In front of a now-packed venue, Georgia and Caleb Nott performed all of the songs from their debut album, “Evergreen,” which they released last October. Although almost every song was well-received, the crowd favorites were “Everytime,” “Mother & Father,” “Coattails” and “Bridges.”

FINDING A BAND

The Notts began competing in talent shows in their early teens, accumulating small cash prizes. After their days of shopping center-stardom, the duo joined a larger band, The Peasants, however, they found the dynamics of a larger group too competitive. After juggling several unfitting names, Georgia and Caleb settled on Broods as their duo name in reference to their brooding as siblings. In late 2013, “Bridges” was put onto Soundcloud and by the next day received more attention than they anticipated. The rest fell into place with the help of producer Joel Little, who also produced Lorde’s “Pure Heroine.”

CONNECTING WITH LISTENERS

Many of the album’s lyrics have a melodramatic feel that deal with relationships and heartbreak. Being only 20 years old, Georgia shared that their song “Mother & Father” was written about her transition of leaving home and starting an adult life. Nott said that she felt the message was something that almost everyone could relate to at some point in their lives. The chorus, “I don’t want to wake up lonely. I don’t want to just be fine,” meets Nott’s intentions of connecting with the majority of listeners.

The duo performed the next night on March 6 at the Observatory in Santa Ana where Taylor Swift, Ellie Goulding and Alana Haim were reportedly in attendance, and met with the Nott siblings after the show. Broods are on a 29-stop tour covering all of North America, including Canada.