Let's start out with a wild one, shall we? Matt & Kim have been on my radar since I first heard Yea Yeah on XM several years ago. When I saw the hilarious video I was completely hooked. They have had little sprinkles of notoriety here and there, with their songs being used in commercials and tv shows, and most notably for the video for Lessons Learned in which they ran naked through Times Square. Recently they were contacted by the Guinness Book of World Records and informed they hold the record for the largest number of people performing the Harlem Shake (how is that even a record?? they didn't realize it either at the time).
I was thrilled that they were going to be in town so I snapped up the tickets immediately. B was less enthused but I assured him it was going to be an incredible show. They didn't disappoint. Before we get to the main act, however, I must give honorable mention to opener PAPA. These guys were actually quite good, and bonus points for having a song called Let's Make You Pregnant as well as having a guitar player who totally looked like he was cosplaying Marshall Lee from Adventure Time.
When Matt & Kim finally hit the stage, they were welcomed by the loudest cheer I have ever heard at that venue. The sold out crowd (including a bunch of people dressed like bananas) went absolutely berserk and that energy did not wane the entire show. A gigantic smile was plastered across my face as I watched the enthusiastic pair blast through all of their hits and more, with foul-mouthed little firecracker Kim often playing the drums while standing up on her stool and Gumby-esque Matt twisting himself into all sorts of poses as he slammed out the tunes on the keyboard. One of the highlights of the show occurred early on when they threw a bag of balloons out into the crowd, showered the fans with confetti, and asked them to blow up said balloons and wave them around during the next song. The effect was absolutely magical and I could barely contain my excitement. I would wager that most everyone in the room felt the same all night. Kim often encouraged the crowd to sing or dance along with them, repeating over and over, "We do this shit TOGETHER" and everyone was happy to oblige. The duo seemed genuinely happy and excited to be there, explaining that this was their first headlining show in quite a while as they were just coming off a supporting gig during which they would play at most 45 minutes each night. Much to my great delight, when they sang Yea Yeah, the song that brought the band to me way back when, Kim demanded that the bananas crowd surf for that one, and crowd surf they did. She returned the favor later in the show by "walking" on top of the crowd a few feet out into the audience. This was cut a bit short because of a leg injury she sustained recently (apparently she fell down some stairs while texting) and had to wear what Matt referred to as a "medical boot," which seemed to hamper her progress a bit. You would never have guessed she was at less that 100%, however, because she spent the majority of her time hopping, strutting, and wiggling her butt around the stage, sometimes on top of her bass drum. In fact, at one point when she was bent over shaking her butt at us, Matt went around and treated it like a bongo. She was sooooooooooooooooooo so much fun to watch.
This is my favorite type of show, because although I don't have the biggest emotional connection to the band, I knew that they would go out there and put on a SHOW for us. I felt nothing but pure, unadulterated happiness the entire time I was witnessing the spectacle, which is exactly what I was hoping would happen. If there is ever a moment that I wonder why I spend so much of my time and money watching live music, all I have to do is read this entry and remember the feeling I get when I do.
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