Matt and Kim w/ No Parents
Showbox SoDo, Seattle, WA
11.02.19
Inflatable sex dolls, dildos, boobie flash, and a sold-out venue pretty much some up Matt and Kim’s Grand anniversary tour. Anyone familiar with Matt and Kim knows how wild their shows get. This tour is setting a new bar for a live show in every wild and unexpected way possible.
The night started with Matt and Kim coming on stage to “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath. They started the show in the grandest way possible with “Daylight,” arguably their most well known and cherished song. With the first chord, the fans went berserk.
Early on, they set ground rules about how wild their shows are, encouraging those that want to get crazy to move to the middle and get closer or get the fuck out. I mean their website also has a warning about the show not being suitable for all ages because of Kim.
It was frenzied on stage as both Matt and Kim would jump away from their instruments to dance in front of the crowd. Throwing confetti into the crowd, a multitude of balloons, and many full-size blow-up sex dolls that had Matt and Kim’s faces printed on.
Halfway through the night, they stopped for a moment to share a PowerPoint slide about the making of their first album in Matt’s parents’ house. Mainly making fun of how they did not really know what they were doing and Kim had just learned how to play drums to record the album.
With all the energy put into playing the Grand album, it was just the warm-up for the rest of the show. Grand is such a solid album, but it was the start of something that would blossom into four wonderful albums after. The second half of the show was no slower than the first. Jumping right into the bombastic song, “Hey Now.” Even songs that were slower paced on their albums seemed to be played like the faster songs.
With a new album on the horizon, fans got to hear two new songs. The first song, “Go Go,” had familiar vibes to other Matt and Kim songs. The second new song, “Money,” had a new feel to it like they might be expanding beyond their two-instrument sound with the guitar intro. A fun peek of what’s to come in 2020.
Their energy on stage is like no other. Kim played every song with the biggest smile on her face. She beats her drums like they are heading into battle and the fans are their army. For Matt, he is able to really bring playing the keyboard to life in an electric way for such a stationary instrument. All the music, energy, and charisma that they boost while sitting down is a true testimony to their live performance.
This indie-electronic duo played one hell of a show. Coming on for an encore to play “Happy If You’re Happy” and “Let’s Go,” they left everything they had on stage and everyone sweaty from one manically wild show! A true celebration of Grand’s 10-year anniversary.
With a band as energetic, wild, and coarse you’d need an opener that can get a crowd ready for Matt and Kim. No Parents were the perfect opener. Imagine Matt and Kim as a 5-piece punk band from the Netflix series Stranger Things. That’s No Parents.
Each song was played with pure joy, like unsupervised kids. Singer Zoe Reign was the perfect punk rock front for the band. Full of wild, eccentric, and creative ways to perform without an instrument. From dancing and helping drum Monte Najera Reign kept busy with unexpected antics on stage.
No Parents were filling in for the original opening band SWMRS who has been involved in a car accident a few days earlier. Wishing them a quick recovery they honored SWMRS by covering “Palm Trees.” During the first chorus, Matt ran out on stage to sing along for about 6 seconds before running off stage.
No Parents were the perfect opener for Matt and Kim. Humble and fun. Fast and crazy. Amusing and entertaining.
Photos and review by Logan Westom
Matt & Kim
No Parents
