On Friday, May 9, the Middlebury College Activities Board (MCAB) will welcome Brooklyn-based alt-indie band Matt & Kim to perform the 2014 Spring Concert. Due to student demand demonstrated through online surveys, the concert will be held outside, weather permitting, most likely in the space between the Johnson Memorial Building and Battell Beach. The set-up will mimic the Spring 2011 Guster concert, which featured a mobile stage on a tractor-trailer facing College Street.
Vocalist and keyboardist Matt Johnson and drummer Kim Schifino have crafted a unique, recognizable style, cultivating an exponentially growing fan base.
“I would call them peppy alt rock, indie rock, even percussion piano pep,” MCAB Concert Committee co-chair Nick Mallchok ’14.5 said. “They’re very high energy with a lot of foot stomping.”
After releasing their self-titled debut album in 2006, Matt & Kim gained many indie fans through live shows, eventually progressing from basement venues to larger festivals like The Siren Music Festival in New York, Lollapalooza in Chicago and Bonnaroo in Tennessee. Now promoting their fourth studio album, ‘Lightning,’ the band enjoys national recognition, with many songs featured in commercials, television programs and video games.
“I think they’ve been well received as an outdoor artist,” said MCAB Concert Committee co-chair Camille Kenny ’14. “I know that they played Live on the Green, which is a free concert series [in Nashville]. I had so many friends who said they were great outdoors, so I think that their vibe and their genre is definitely conducive to a happy crowd.”
Matt & Kim’s second album, ‘Grand,’ was recorded in Johnson’s childhood home in Vermont, and the band began the promotional tour for their most recent release in Burlington, indicating a familiarity with the area that many other artists cannot claim.
“I’m a big fan of these guys, and I’ve seen them once before at Bonnaroo in 2011 and they had a huge crowd,” Mallchok said. “Kim, at one point, got up and crowd surfed standing up, which was really fun to watch. She’s very energetic, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a little bit of spectacle involved, maybe some surfing of the crowd and a lot of interaction between artist and audience.”
Matt & Kim are perhaps known equally for their music and the way they illustrate their work in music videos. Their 2009 video for ‘Lessons Learned,’ a single off of their sophomore album, features Johnson and Schifino stripping nude in Times Square on a cold February day. It has garnered almost three million views on YouTube and earned the band a Breakthrough Video MTV Music Video Award.
The concert will be free of admission and open to everyone.
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