An energetic San Francisco crowd eats up Matt and Kim

February 2, 2009, at Cafe Du Nord

By Camille Ikalina Robles
Published: February 5th, 2009 | 4:20pm

I was standing in the middle of a bunch of enthusiastic Matt and Kim fans when a few things dawned on me. One, “a bunch” is really too small a phrase to describe what was actually a sold-out show at Cafe Du Nord. Two, enthusiastic doesn’t even begin to describe the love the San Francisco crowd had for this Brooklyn twosome. And three, I was smack dab in the middle of the mosh pit. When I dodged the near blow of the first crowd surfer’s size-13 Converse shoes, I thought to myself, in the middle of the chaos was probably not the best place to try to scribble notes on a little notepad with one hand and photograph the show with the other. So, with a sense of duty and a regretful internal sigh, I found a distant, much safer place to observe the madness.

Matt Johnson (vocals and synths) and Kim Schifino (drums) collectively make up punk rock/dance duo Matt and Kim. Touring in support of their latest release, Grand (Fader), the duo took the stage in front a projection screen that shuffled through grafitti-esque artwork of the band’s name and album title. The artwork reflected up onto the ceiling as well and showered the crowd with red, green, blue, and yellow lights.

After a brief warm-up, Matt and Kim burst into an energetic “It’s a Fact (Printed Stained)” and “Yea Yeah” from their 2006 self-titled debut on Iheartcomix. Filling the space between songs with plugs for the new album and funny onstage political banter, Johnson and Schifino moved through their set with an energy that matched their fans. After a romping “Good Ol’ Fashion Nightmare,” Johnson beamed at the crowd and exclaimed, “You guys are the craziest audience for that song ever!”

Matt and Kim slowed it down to catch their breath with the poppy “Light Speed” and picked up the energy again with “5K.” Schifino stayed behind the drums most of the night, but stood up on her kit a few times to play with the audience and join in on the fun. At one point she jumped on the mic and told a story about one of the first Matt and Kim shows at Cafe Du Nord a few years back. An enthusiastic fan wanted the duo to sign her chest, but Johnson was reluctant, even with his girlfriend there giving him permission. He eventually gave in, and Kim told the audience, “This was the first place we ever signed boobs!” The crowd burst out laughing, as an amused Johnson said, “This is why I never give you the mic!”

When the duo got to the final two songs of the set, they seemed surprised by how fast time had gone by. It was an early show on this Monday night, so after “Daylight,” Kim got on the mic one more time and told the audience they had “one more song, and then we’re going to dance our asses off!” Both the band and the fans put all the energy that had left in “Silver Tiles.” Things got so frenzied that at one point, one of the techies was so inspired he took a stage dive into the crowd. Soon enough, Matt made his way to the edge of the stage and the audience sorta just picked him up. Held up by his legs, Johnson hovered over everyone, his hands and head touching the ceiling. Laughing and exclaiming with glee and fear, he sung the final words, and Matt and Kim ended their set with broad smiles and soaked in sweat. The rocking was done, but the dance party had only just begun.

Matt and Kim Web feature

Review of Matt and Kim's Grand

Matt and Kim print feature