Kim Schifino  never lost her smile. Matt Johnson barely sat down at his keyboard. And together, they didn’t let the crowd out of their grasp.

 

‘Everyone was really into it, they really made us connected,’ said Mike Connor, a sophomore information technology major. ‘(Kim) was jumping around everywhere, it was awesome.’

 

Brooklyn duo Matt & Kim played the first show of their fall tour Wednesday night at the Westcott Theater. The two shared undeniable chemistry from start to finish, sharing stories of their first visit to Syracuse in 2007. The nearly sold-out crowd was treated to tales of wetting the bed at the Sheraton Hotel on University Avenue and meals at Mexican restaurant Alto Cinco.

 

Along with being Matt & Kim’s first stop, this was the first show of the Westcott’s 2010-11 season.

 

The crowd cheered as concert staff prepped the stage for Matt & Kim with beers. Once Matt & Kim went onstage, the party didn’t stop until the last note faded away.

 

‘I’ve been here before, and this was definitely the best show I’ve ever seen at the Westcott,’ said Joe Peloquin, a senior computer engineering major.

 

Adorned with the letters S-y-r-a-c-u-s-e on each finger, Johnson threw his fists into the air and kicked toward the light display. The energy never died.

 

‘I think it pumped them up. It was their first show, and I think it’s good that they played it here,’ said sophomore English and textual studies major Shea Garner.

 

Woven in between their better-known songs like ‘Good O’ Fashion Nightmare’ and ‘I Wanna,’ Matt & Kim played instrumental renditions of classic party songs, like DJ Kool’s ‘Let Me Clear My Throat’ and Sir Mix-A-Lot’s ‘Jump on it.’ One thing was clear Wednesday night: Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino came to party.

 

Temporarily stopping the emphatic drums and synthesized keyboard, Johnson decided to share with the crowd his inspiration for the crazed antics.

 

‘I’ve been on antibiotics for the past week,’ he said. ‘And I just started drinking tonight.’

 

Briefly into their hour-long set, Schifino stood on top of her drums and spoke.

 

‘Syracuse, you guys are f awesome,’ she said. ‘But we’re about to kick this s up.’

 

Flowing seamlessly between each and every song, Matt & Kim just didn’t want to stop playing. Schifino rarely took a break from pounding her drums, and when she finally did, it was only to give the crowd another taste of her talents.

 

Calling out to some of the most faithful dancers in the center of the crowd, Schifino put down her drumsticks. She needed help for what came next.

 

‘I need you guys to hold my feet and ankles. You can touch my butt, it’s a little sweaty, but do whatever,’ Schifino said.

 

Schifino climbed off the stage onto the guardrail, and performed her self-proclaimed ‘booty dance’ in front the entire crowd. Schifino thanked the crowd and quickly went back to her drums, barely missing a beat.

 

‘I just love Kim, she’s a wild woman. She’s just always so joyful,’ said Rachel Chernok, a freshman education major.

 

With only two songs to go, Johnson stopped the set to share a Jagerbomb with Schifino. Schifino then stood on top of the drum, took out a microphone and belted Alice Deejay’s ‘Better Off Alone,’ with the entire crowd as her choir.

 

They went on to play ‘I’ll Take Us Home’ from their 2009 album, ‘Grand,’ live for the first time.

 

Pausing after the line ‘all our hopes, all our friends’ from their song ‘Silver Tiles,’ Matt & Kim were greeted with a roar of applause and cheers. They thanked the Westcott and Syracuse for being so welcoming. The audience could feel their love.

 

‘I loved the atmosphere, it just felt so intimate.’ said Audrey Eisenberg, a freshman education major.

 

Greeted with a crowd frenzy that rivaled the artists playing, ‘Daylight’ marked the exit of two very sweaty band members.

 

‘It’s like they were part of us,’ said Kate Chesebrough, a junior landscape architecture major at the State University of New York School of Environmental Science and Forestry. ‘This was so encouraging. I touched Matt twice, and we danced the entire time. It’s like he was down (on the floor) with us.’

 

akgould@syr.edu

Published on September 15, 2010 at 12:00 pm