Matt & Kim wow fans at the timely return of The Westcott Theater

Review: The Brooklyn natives didn't suppress the excitement to be in their home state as they delivered a show with unmatchable energy and personality on Thursday night.

 

The show went on for the powerhouse duo Thursday, despite an accident at The Westcott Theater earlier in the week. Fans that could not make the delayed show missed a truly unique concert experience, but were refunded for their tickets.

Tuesday night, a ceiling tile collapsed and injured a few patrons during a Dada Life show at The Westcott Theater. Although the Datsik show on the following evening was rescheduled, Matt & Kim were given the go to perform; only pushing doors back to 10p.m. Maybe it had something to do with bands whose name start with the letter “d”?  I digress.

Opening for Matt & Kim was Oberhofer. With three guitar players, a glockenspiel, bass, and drums, their sound was layered and full to say the least. Well-written guitar parts complemented front man Brad Oberhofer’s youthful vocals, and the five pieces maintained the anxious crowd’s attention.

And how could you look away? Front Brad was pulling every Rock & Roll trick in the book; running across the stage, jumping up on to the bass drum, and shaking his long hair to his power pop anthems. Although their set time was crammed due to the ceiling incident, Oberhofer really delivered and revved up the audience for their entrée.

Matt & Kim took the stage and a floor-to-ceiling banner of an anywhere-Brooklyn scene unrifled. This was the second show of their new tour in promotion of their newest album, Sidewalks, released two days prior. The duo was as giddy as two freshmen in college attending their first live show.

Without hesitation Matt & Kim pumped out hit after hit from their previous two albums. Artists who have just released an album could be expected to play every song off of said new album and ignore their older body of work. Matt & Kim went about this dilemma in the best way possible; by sneaking in new tunes between the crowd favorites.

Something also of note was the extensive amount of covers thrown seamlessly between songs. Covering tunes from “Jump on It” to “Better Off Alone.” No grounds were left untraveled.  

There weren’t too many surprises during the performance as one can always expect Kim’s distorted facial expressions and Matt’s mediocre playing abilities. There were even times where noticeable group vocal backing tracks were playing, but you can’t really blame Matt & Kim, as many fans these days expect exact replications of the recorded songs they know and love. Any diversion from original recordings earns many acts harsh criticism.

Although Matt & Kim’s level of musicianship is average at best, one can’t deny that the live act the duo shared with The Westcott Theater was overwhelmingly fun and contagious. They proved that the quirky personalities both the front man and woman have are what earned them indie rock stardom.

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