Lessons Learned - Matt and Kim

Have you seen the Mojito Bacadari commercial that's been playing lately? This one I mean:




It's a pretty cool commercial and the song is super catchy. That song is Daylight by Matt and Kim and I saw them live for the second time this year last Tuesday.

I was in Fort Collins one night earlier this year seeing my friend Amy's band Post Paradise perform at the Aggie. I was hanging out w/ the FoCo crew and sipping on my beer when this crazy catchy song comes on, followed by more frenetic and catchy music. I was really digging the band but they were completely foreign to me so I literally walked up to the DJ and asked the guy who the band was playing. He had it on shuffle and didn't even know himself (some DJ) but it turned out to be Matt and Kim. I made a mental note and enjoyed the night.

Practically the next day I see a flyer in the Psychology building for a concert, Cut Copy feat. Matt and Kim. I figured what the hell and picked up some tickets.



These guys were soooooo much fun to see live. Matt and Kim are just up there having such fun on stage that their joy really transmits and infects the audience; it's impossible not to have fun with them playing as far as I'm concerned. I mean they do crazy antics on stage like walk on the crowd, posing and pointing to the sky, and jumping around while playing and the fans are clapping and singing and jumping like crazy. I was only saddened that they were the opening act and could only play half a set list. Not to take anything away from Cut Copy though, they turned out to be really good live as well. After the show I actually got the chance to talk to Kim and it was pretty cool, I got her to sign a copy of their cd and she told me that they were coming back in September and I told them I would be there.

And I was. And it was unbelievable.

What's cool is that as I was coming to the bluebird, I was wearing my Matt and Kim t shirt I had bought from when they opened for Cut Copy, and I'm walking towards the theater and I see this guy approaching from the opposite direction. He notices my shirt and points at me in recognition and I recognize the guy as well. It's Matt! From Matt and Kim! And I shook his hand and told him I was excited for the show. Haha. I got a lot of feedback on my Grand t shirt, maybe Matt and Kim should consider re-selling that shirt again.

Inside the venue I staked out a spot up in the pit and waited w/ the help of a Heineken. I probably ended up waiting an hour or so for the show but I much rather arrive early than fight for a spot when arriving late. There was this girl w/ this guy hanging out at the front of the stage also and this girl had this long thick brown hair and she would run her fingers through it and flip it over to one side and tease it every now and then and every time she played with her hair, I wanted to pin her against the wall and devour her. If there was ever any doubt, I know now, I really have a thing for voluptuous hair.

As the pit and theater filled in, finally the opening act came on stage. First it was two dj's that were spinning and laying down some great dance beats. The crowd though wasn't really into it all that much from where I could tell, which is lame because how can you come to a concert and not dance? Didn't bother me, I was having fun dancing and the beautiful blonde next to me that was also dancing away sure didn't hurt.

Then Amanda Blank came on and really impressed. Here's a lady who can rhyme, has dance flavored pop beats, and also can sing. She reminded me of the Ting Ting's Katie White, if, you know, she were an dark haired American from Philly who rapped about naughty things.



I really dug her and picked up her cd and even got to get her to autograph it after the show, she was cool and I've been trying to pass her music onto my friends. Seriously, "Might Like you Better" has been stuck in my head since Tuesday.

Then the roadies came out to rearrange the stage and the ladies next to me where inquisitively asking if one of the roadies was Matt. I just smiled quietly to myself having known that I had recognized and met Matt just outside the venue before the show. T.I.'s "Bring em Out" came on and some of the fans that I recognized had also been at the Cut Copy show started to get excited along w/ me, knowing that Matt and Kim came out to that song the last time they played.

As frenetic as their album is, they are a million times crazier on stage. They play everything as fast as they can and as loud as they can. What was really cool was that this time around, the audience was there for Matt and Kim and so they were really into it this time around. Lyrics were sung, hands were thrown in the air, there was clapping and jumping and Denver Colorado went crazy!



*Right after this, they played and "retired" their rendition of Final Countdown. Haha!

They also played Lessons Learned live, which is my favorite song and one I was sad they didn't play when they opened for Cut Copy. If you haven't seen it, check out their music video for the song. It's NOT SAFE FOR WORK mind you but it's a simple and cool concept of saying to hell with everything, thus symbolized by them going streaking in the middle of times square in the dead cold of February.



When they opened for Cut Copy, they closed with Silver Tiles (posted above). This time, they closed with Daylight!



After the show they dived into the crowd and danced their way all the way to the back where they signed t shirts and cds and posed for pictures a good full hour after the show had ended. Usually main acts don't really do that but Matt and Kim were cool enough to stick around. I got to talk w/ them briefly, Matt actually remembered me from before the show even!

All in all, I love the Bluebird, it's such a nice venue. Moreover, I love Matt and Kim! They put on such an amazing concert and they're just so much fun live and I highly recommend seeing them if given the opportunity. What's more, I get to go back to the Bluebird tomorrow and do it all over again with Gaslight Anthem. Haha. I love live music.

*Thanks to Youtube user jodiesconcerts for uploading the vids of the concert!