To demonstrate the power the Brooklyn band Matt and Kim have over a crowd, see the following text exchange:

Me: I heart Matt and Kim, maybe Kim more than Matt, but I heart Matt, too.

Laura: They are cute, like buttons

Now, I had never seen the keyboard and drum duo live before, nor had I ever bothered to pick up one of their albums, but five minutes into their early evening set at the Balance Stage, I was hooked. Kim, never once stopped smiling, as she raised her hands high and thrust every bit of herself into her drum kit, and Matt played the keyboards like Pete Townsend played guitar. He wind-milled. He head-banged. He would leap in the air and crash his hands down upon his gear.

Then, when they sang, their songs were such happy songs with refrains like “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,” or “Five, four, three, two, one.” No wonder Bacardi chose to use their song “Daylight” in a new ad campaign. Matt and Kim make you happy. Liquor makes you happy. Therefore, Matt and Kim and liquor, makes for levels of happiness rarely attained outside of nirvana.

All photos by Laura Webb

More photos of Matt and Kim at the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival