Usually it’s Jamie Stewart and company who are the subjects of bewilderment, with lyrics highlighted by disconcerting details, proper names and disturbing topics — not to mention meticulous arrangements encompassing elements of Indonesian music, dance-pop and modern composition, among other genres. But while Xiu Xiu’s appearance at the ’Sco this past Tuesday was a whole assortment of wonderful adjectives, it was the audience that left me quite puzzled.

Oakland-via-Portland noise duo Yellow Swans (a.k.a. D. Yellow Swans) opened the packed show with a 25-minute set filled with cascading drones, squalls of trance-inducing feedback and a political agenda to boot. The duo maneuvered a table jam-packed with pedals, oscillators, tone generators and various aural bric-a-brac to create a compelling noise that left TIMARA majors with massive erections and the rest of the crowd either confused or bored.

Evoking a more heavily textured version of Bastard Noise at times and a more fervent mid-period Black Dice at others, Yellow Swans played an intense live show and seemed to have a lot on their minds. For example, guitarist Gabe Mindel said that the closing song, “True Union,” is about the concept of fictional borders. But I can’t help but feel that they could be doing so much more with the music.

I understand that providing a context for white noise can allow listeners to feel a little less alienated from something so abrasive, but I guess I just don’t see how the topics at hand relate to the music at all. Maybe a “how to decipher the Yellow Swans’ musical language” guide could do the trick?

After a quick breakdown, Xiu Xiu took the stage and delivered a truly captivating performance featuring a set that focused mostly on the group’s latest album, “La Foret,” with a few old fan favorites thrown in for good measure. I was quite astonished by the turnout and by the fact that the word around campus was that Xiu Xiu is apparently a “buzz band.”

For those of you unfamiliar with Xiu Xiu’s music, imagine Ian Curtis (though that’s where the Joy Division comparisons begin and end) singing lyrics like: “THIS IS THE WORST VACATION EVER / I’M GOING TO CUT OPEN YOUR FOREHEAD WITH A ROOFING SHINGLE,” over, at times, triumphant-sounding chords and infectious new wave beats and, at other times, sparse, delicate arrangements with a diverse array of percussion and synthesizers. It’s certainly an equation that I think only Xiu Xiu can pull off (and they do, just barely), but also one that makes them entirely unique.

I was surprised to find that the subtleties of the group’s latest album really came through in a live context. Highlights included the slow-moving chimes in “Clover,” the blast of white noise that comes through at precisely the right moment in “Muppet Face,” the chilling line in “Yellow Raspberry” where Stewart intones that “he became a faggot just like a bunny / beating off nonstop to the escort pages” and the obscene discomfort of “Saturn” (featuring some truly unnerving piccolo snare blasts) that left me utterly disturbed.

Not that I should expect an audience at a rock and roll show to be quiet and respectful, but the crowd managed to ruin some of the more nuanced sections for me. It also seemed that the majority of the crowd was there to hear the group trudge through a somewhat labored version of “Crank Heart,” as it was the only moment when I noticed the restlessness within the crowd ease during their set. I’m not going to go on an extended rant about concert etiquette, so I’ll just leave it at that.

Xiu Xiu closed out their wonderful set with a positively chilling version of “Sad Pony Guerilla Girl” featuring Jamie on mandolin and a lead vocal from the lovely Caralee on the final chorus saying, “I like my neighborhood/ I like my gun/ Drive in my little car/ I am your girl and I will protect you.” It was one of many transcendent moments in an already inspired evening.