By Melissa Spady (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: March 13, 2013
Making a pilgrimage for music is, in my opinion, the most important experience in any concert go-er’s photo album. It’s the difference between passively attending the shows that come through your home town and aggressively pursuing music for the sheer love of it.
For Valley dwellers, the tame version is heading all the way to downtown Vancouver. It’s a good baby step in the right direction, but as a seasoned concert attendee and certified “woo girl,” nothing beats making a proper trek for something I just have to see.
On Tuesday, March 5, I had the pleasure of adventuring down to The Paramount Theatre in Seattle to see Brooklyn indie duo Matt and Kim in all their live glory. I hit three birds with one stone; I was going through serious pilgrimage withdrawal, Matt and Kim were at the top of my concert bucket list, and they absolutely delivered.
Opening for the duo was Swedish synthpop team Icona Pop. Opening bands are always hit or miss, but in this case I felt it was a solid hit. The only accurate way to describe this electro-house couple is as the result of Tegan and Sara and dubstep having a leather-clad love child. Flashing their hand signal hearts out to the crowd and receiving a very healthy response, they played a refreshingly short but sweet 10 – 15 minute set including their 2012 hit single “I Love it.”
After a short wait, Matt and Kim came bursting out on stage opening with a sample from Notorious B.I.G.’s “Hypnotize.” Stage presence is everything. I have seen great bands go awful, and okay bands become amazing with stage presence. Coupling their own upbeat dance tunes with mini covers (Dr. Dre’s “Next Episode,” Sugar Gang Apache’s “Jump on it,” etc.) in-between, they effectively kept the crowd involved throughout the set.
A sub-category to stage presence is crowd control. Some bands have so much control they could make a crowd take off their shirts in sweaty unison, while others struggle with a simple clap-a-long. Matt and Kim are aligned with the former by standing on their instruments without missing a beat and harping on one another playfully to add comfort. A screen stationed behind each of them added touch of a wickedly colourful footage and intercut with a live feed made being in the nosebleeds an enjoyable experience (for once). Stopping mid-show to do the Harlem Shake, and keeping up the tradition of Kim walking out on the crowd to shake her booty, Matt and Kim are exactly where they want to be. You can tell they are having the time of their lives, doing what they love. The authenticity that oozes from their performance will keep me coming back for more every time they mosey on over to the West Coast.
The only complaint that I can muster about this show was the stage set up. The Paramount, a multi-balcony theatre, lacked decent sound quality for anyone not on the ground floor. If I’m at the very back of the theatre and I cannot understand what the performers are saying, there is a serious problem. I’ve never been a fan of theatre-style venues, but I have heard some excellent shows at the Orpheum in Vancouver.
This leads me to shift the blame on the person managing the sound equipment, and not the venue itself. Concerts are social events. You’re in a room full of people who are all there because you love this band, and it’s one of the only chances you’ll get to see your favourite musician in person. I felt like I was missing half a conversation. Something would be said, the ground floor would cheer, a muffled “Seattle” would bleed through, then everyone would scream. Some might dog on me for nit-picking on minute details, but if I’m paying to see a show and miss out on the crowd interaction you better believe I’m going to be at least mildly displeased.
Despite this small annoyance, the overall adventure went beyond what I had imagined. These are the types of experiences that make shelling out the dough for gas, tickets, food, drinks, parking and any show swag you pick up worth the time and effort that go into a pilgrimage for music. They aren’t easy and you’re dead tired when you get home, but the goosebumps I’ve had for the last three days speak for themselves.
