Some days you are just down. Nothing in particular has to go wrong on these days; you just find yourself filled with a general gloominess. You mope around like you have real problems and shrug off any rays of sunshine.

On these days you need Matt & Kim.

For a month I anticipated covering Matt & Kim at The Henry Fonda Music Box. Saturday arrives like every other day in Southern California (perfect), but I awake feeling gray. I am so buried inside my own head that seemingly nothing can drag me out. I sulk around the house listening to The Dresden Dolls channel on Pandora until eight o’clock when I fight my way into Hollywood. I arrive at The Music Box at what I believe is a decent time, 8:45, only to find out that Matt & Kim have already started. Crap!

I rush inside, whinier than ever, and am met with a wave of heat as a capacity crowd has already begun bouncing and dancing. I fight my way along the back of the crowd, craning for a good angle to photograph from, and my first view of the stage is of a laughing Kim beaming at the crowd as Matt stands behind his keyboards grinning from ear to ear. Suddenly, that mood I had put myself into starts to lift. Seeing two people so absolutely in love with what they are doing and whom they are doing it for can turn even the darkest moods.

With the stifling crowd filling every space all the way to the stage I resign myself to watching from the balcony. Even from a distance of 200 feet I can feel the warmth, and not just from the extreme temperature. Both performers appear to love Los Angeles, and the crowd returns the much-deserved adoration. The pit in front of the stage is a swaying, dancing bundle of energy as they play, as Matt points out late in the set, “Every song we know how to play.” Every song they know includes a cover of “Just a Friend” and Alice Deejay’s “Better Off Alone,” as well as a host of their own songs, new and old. As if the sold out crowd and frantic energy of the people is not enough, the proud New Yorkers happily dedicate their hometown anthem, “I’ll Take Us Home” to the city, cementing a connection with the West Coast.

The set is solid  but loose with plenty of time for Kim to climb onto her drum kit or run around singing with the crowd. The energy never lulls, however, as her antics bring her closer to the audience, and they feed off of this energy. Matt is only slightly more subdued, exhibiting quirkiness by climbing to the top of the background set before returning to the keys for the following song.

For well over an hour the band plays in harmony with the electric crowd.  The opening notes of their final song of the night takes the frenzy to another level as they play along with the mob vocals of “Daylight.” After their set, Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” comes on the loudspeaker and Matt and Kim jump down from the stage to dance and mingle with the fans. The people push in and reach out to connect with the duo, and I walk into the muggy Hollywood air, a happier and better person for the experience.