I recognize that way too much has time has passed between me writing this post and actually seeing Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino play at Toad’s Place in New Haven on November 5th, but this lapse in time is in no way a reflection of how much I enjoyed the show. To but it shortly, they blew my mind. Although I rarely see an artist perform that doesn’t inspire me in some way or another, I have to say that this pair has proven to be unparalleled when it comes to a tangible level of energy on stage and love for making music. As Matt put it, “There are 3 things I value most in life, the first one being the ability to stand on stage and do what I love in front of all you guys.” Truer words have never been spoken. The dynamic duo from Brooklyn has been at it for a while now, selling millions of copies of their previous album, Grand, and infecting music lovers of all sorts with songs like the ever-popular “Daylight”. After seeing their set a few weeks ago, though, I can now completely appreciate why they are so successful: the music they make may not be the most advanced or artistically superior in any way, but they are proof positive that making your audience feel the passion you feel for your work is the key to ensuring a large following for years to come.
They opened the show by coming out and leading the crowd in raging to “Where Brooklyn At?”, a moment in which I could not help but feel so overwhelmingly excited by their vivacity that I thought I might have passed out. Extraordinarily large smiles seemed to be permanently glued to both their faces throughout their entire set, as they played crowd favorites such as “Countdown”, “Lessons Learned”, and “Good Ol’ Fashioned Nightmare”, each one with more energy than the next. I found Kim especially admirable upon seeing her absolutely kick ass on the drums for hours; never have I seen anyone play an instrument so tirelessly and with so much happiness in my life. The show definitely hit a high point towards the end of their set, as they threw un-inflated balloons of all colors into the audience, had everyone who caught them blow them up, and then counted down from 3 and release them into the air into an array of color and excitement. The reaction of utter elation that they received from such a simple act made me fall in love with their ability to make others appreciate the simple things in life; if nothing else, Matt & Kim will go down in indie music history as a pair that knew exactly how to get the most out of every performance and make others truly love their biggest passion in life.
I wish I had gotten to stay until the end, as I’m sure they played songs like “Cameras”, “Daylight”, and “Am/Fm Sound” that would have been so much fun to dance around to, but overall my experience seeing them definitely didn’t fall short. If you haven’t gotten a chance to listen to their new album, Sidewalks, or don’t have Grand in it’s entirety in your possession, it’s definitely time to get on it. Matt & Kim are an experience that I think no one of my generation should be missing out on.
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