BFD Pre-Party featuring Matt & Kim, The Golden Filter and The Soft Pack @ The Mezzanine 6/5/2010
For as long as I can remember, Live 105 has put on their annual BFD Festival at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. Festivals just aren’t my gig: too hot, too expensive, too crowded, etc.  Because of my propensity towards loathing those festival experiences, I often suffer from what I’ve coined as the “Bored-at-Home-While-the-World-Sees-My-Favorite-Band Blues.” Thanks, Live 105 for helping remove some of the remorse I’ve felt for missing those favorite bands play your festivals! The BFD Pre-party featuring The Soft Pack, The Golden Filter and Matt & Kim was, to quote Kim Schifino (the Kim in Matt & Kim), “A sweaty drunken dance party!” All three bands (along with DJ Aaron Axelson) contributed to the energy and excitement of the evening with their own very distinct brands of danceable indie rock.
First to play was San Diego four-piece, The Soft Pack. Having just left a relaxing BBQ to attend the show, this band was the perfect musical transition to the night. They are the type of band you wish was playing your BBQ. With their unadorned blend of pop vocal hooks and straight forward guitar driven indie rock, The Soft Pack had the early crowd bobbing and clapping along. Their song “ Mexico ” brought to mind early Built to Spill meets Calexico, the perfect song for a drive through the desert with the windows down.
Between bands, the crowd was kept dancing by DJ Aaron Axelson. Spinning an awesome mix of pop hits and indie favorites, he kept the room moving and the adrenaline pumping.
The Golden Filter took the stage amidst smoke and lasers, as lead singer Penelope Trappes, looking like a 21st century Stevie Nicksdressed in linen and lace poured herself out to center stage. An electronic duo consisting of Trappes and synth guru Stephen Hindman, The golden Filter began making a name for themselves remixing such notable artists as Peter, Bjorn and John, and Cut Copy. Their debut album Voluspa is named after a Nordic poem about the creation and destruction of the earth, and that description could accurately be applied to their sound as well. Comparisons between Trappes and Fever Ray/The Knife’s Karin Dreijer Andersson vocal styling’s are unavoidable; soft yet caustic, ethereal but organic, both ladies have a unique talent for making the human voice truly inhuman.
Headlining the show was the Brooklyn duo Matt & Kim. I’m going to be very upfront about this, Matt & Kim are my unabashed favorite band; I love them. I have their patch on my backpack, I can sing every lyric to almost every song; I love them. And it was quite obvious that the crowd at the Mezzanine last night loves them too. From the instant the pair took the stage, the energy in the room was palpable. Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino truly are musicians who make music because they love to entertain, and entertain they did! Between jumping on their instruments and belting out songs from both their albums. The duo found time to cover Guns-N-Roses andEurope, challenge audience members to a “Drop-it-Low” dance contest, throw out balloons for the audience to inflate, and admit to “being a little drunk, that’s why we’re talking so much.” The crowd was pogoing like it was the 1970’s, singing along and clapping in time to the arpeggio rhythms emanating from the drum and synth combo.