Blown away. That is how the night ended for me. Unfortunately the night didn’t start out that way. I was tired from partying too much on Friday and then taking an epically long hike on Saturday. I wanted to sleep and wasn’t sure if a show was the best thing to be attending in my sleepy daze. Fortunately The Soft Pack came on and gave me a bit of an energy boost.
The Soft Pack are an indie-rock outfit out of San Diego. Their sound can be best described as laid-back-grungy-surf-garage-rock. They were the first of three bands, always a real unenviable spot. The bassist (David Lantzman) and the guitarist (Matty McLoughlin) were what really stood out. It became clear that whenever Lantzman or McLoughlin were heavily featured, the song (like on “Pull Out”) was going to be awesome, and when they weren’t, not so much. The lead singer (Matt Lamkin) had a real lazy, droning vocal style. It’s one that carried no pretension but also really failed to connect with the audience. I couldn’t decide if Lamkin’s staring-off-into-space style fit the music well or was a detriment. Was he having a good time or just going through the motions?
That being said I still really enjoyed watching their set. The drummer (Brian Hill) kept a competent beat which could hardly be called flashy. However, Hill’s chemistry with the other band mates was definitely evident. Whenever The Soft Pack would get into a jam (which they did awesomely) you could see Hill start to flashing his smile at his band mates. For my tastes slower, more reflective songs like Mexico should be left by the wayside. The band really shines when they rock it out like on their last song of the night “Answer to Yourself.” That type of song is one where you can start shaking your hips, point your finger in the air, and bob your face.
I don’t have much to say about The Golden Filter. They made me more sleepy. A two member band, made three with the addition of a drummer when they go live, have a waify-breathy-synth sound. Lead singer Penelope Trappes was shrouded in a wispy, suggestive white shroud that made me keep questioning if she was wearing anything under her shroud (she was). There is no doubt of the attractiveness of Trappes but the music really failed to stand out. Trappes floated around the stage, sometimes robotically and other times ghostly, while belting out her breathy lyrics. The amount of attention she draws makes you forget there are two others on the stage. The drummer, whose name I do not know, was excellent. The synths pumped out by Stephen Hindman were also really catchy. But despite the two in the background, the act in the foreground was the “show” and it wasn’t a great one. The Golden Filter made me sleepy and I wanted to go home.
I’m glad I stuck around because the performance by Matt & Kim last night may have been the best I’ve seen this yea. I really didn’t know much about Matt & Kim before heading into The Mezzanine last night. I knew they did cool videos (like the naked Times Square one) and they had really catchy and poppy songs. I had heard their live shows were fun and their crowds involved, but honestly I had no idea how great they could be. I’ve never seen a performance where the band smiled the entire time. Like, the entire time. Their smiles made you want to smile, and they spread their energy quickly. They played covers, had the crowd blow up balloons, Kim had a “get-low contest” with an audience member, and discussions of laser nipples where had. The amount of energy both performers brought were incredible. Kim was constantly jumping up onto her drum set to keep the crowd at a tempest pace. During one of these jumps she started stomping on her drum, which ruled. I can confidently say that everybody in that audience would want to be her bestie.
Matt & Kim really showed their love for the SF audience. The crowd at The Mezzanine was one of those rare SF crowds that makes shows incredible. Crowd surfers, stage divers (Kim was in both of these groups), people hugging each other, and sweating out their intoxicants. It ruled. I had a sad, depressed girl standing next to me with too much Fernet on her breath who had come to see just The Golden Filter. She told me she decided to check out Matt & Kim on a whim and was glad she did, because they were like an anti-depressant show.
My notes of the show are mostly in scribble form due to the amounts of jumping around I did. Matt gave shout outs not only to the audience and the awesome Mezzanine staff, but also to Taqueria Cancun because he was going to get a fucking burrito. They ended their show with “Daylight,” and the crowd, including myself, went wild. Though there was no encore both Matt & Kim jumped down into the audience and started handing out hugs. How awesome is that? I am now a Matt & Kim fan and will definitely check out their shows whenever they’re in the city. For those of you seeing them at BFD today, have fun!
I love that feeling of discovering something new and amazing, fucked up, !!!, they did this for me!
I wish i saw them, damit! Next time FOR SURE!
I’ll be there in the audience next time for sure too