Matt & Kim aren’t for everybody. They’re overbearingly happy, play simple keyboard-and-drums pop and (I think) are a couple. AWWWWWWWWW. Combined with a Holiday With Friends reunion/breakup, Little Pictures and a high proportion of couples in the crowd, the ingredients were there for a sickly sweet night. BUT. IT. RULED.
Catching the end of the final instalment of Holiday With Friends’ ‘We’re breaking up!’ trilogy, it looked like everything it should have been- a ramshackle farewell, full of handclaps and admissions of ‘it was soo bad’ from the band followed up by ‘yeah but it was AWESOME’ from various people who saw it. Kinda hope that’s not a path too many bands go down, but given HWF’s penchant for kindling nostalgia, sloppiness is all part of the charm.
I don’t think Matt ever properly ‘learned keyboard’ like you do when yr 12 and need an ‘extracurricular activity/hobby’, he’s too busy pounding out sweaty ecstasy with one hand fisting the air ROCK N ROLL STYLE, spasming out like he’s playing from his bedroom and noones watching. Meanwhile, Kim’s got this unfeasibly massive time-of-her-life grin going on, one part creepy but at least fifty parts ITS A WONDERFUL SHOW, IM GLAD IM SPENDING IT WITH YOU as she beamed at everyone she could make eye contact with between her bicep swivels. Numerous ‘4-3-2-1′ countdowns, a rendition of The Final Countdown and, for once, a fully packed Mighty Mighty culminated in sweaty joy that permeated throughout the crowd over the course of the show. Even when the pogo-ing crowd collapsed at one point, those standing instantly went to the aid of those splayed on the floor. Topping off the night was the fact that noone seemed to enjoy themselves as much as Matt & Kim did. Statements like ‘This is like a Brooklyn show – no wait, it’s a WELLINGTON show!!’ were OTT cringe-cheesy, but if ever there was a show where too much cheese wasn’t enough, this was it. Sore smiling cheeks.
