CHAMPAIGN — Three Sundays ago I drove myself out to Parkland College for the surprisingly free show by the rising indie duo Matt and Kim. My friends had just texted me, telling me to hurry up because, since they had gotten to Parkland two hours early to beat the crowd, they were enjoying a game of volleyball with Matt.

Unfortunately, once I arrived at Parkland, Matt had already returned to the tour bus in order to prepare for the concert, so I sat down on the grassy lawn in front of the stage and waited…

And waited. And waited. The lawn filled quickly with a bustling crowd of hipsters, clad in plaid and sporting their Andy Warhol glasses, taking long drags on their cigarettes and waiting, patiently, for the band to take the stage.

Within the next hour there were a handful of false alarms. A techie took hold of some drum sticks and tested out the drum set, and all 200 people in the crowd whooped and clapped, soon realizing that it was not in fact Matt, but some anonymous sound technician. They promptly morphed the woohoos into boos.

A half an hour later smoke began to stutter from a smoke machine on stage, and the crowd craned their necks once again and muttered in disappointment. Still, no Matt and Kim.

Yea Big & Kid Static take the stage. Gargoyle photos by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

Chicago rap duo Yea Big & Kid Static liven up the crowd. Gargoyle photos by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

Another view of Yea Big & Kid Static. Gargoyle photos by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

Finally, when everyone was wondering if the whole show was just a ruse to get 200 chic kids to share some sweat, a scrawny, redheaded 20-something-year-old dressed in a neon exercise outfit (arm bands, a headband, knee socks, a gray hoodie, and shorts all too short) jumped up onstage and bounced around, waving his arms and stretching enthusiastically.

“Matt?” murmured those in the crowd who hadn’t seen a picture or video of the Brooklyn group.

It was not, of course, Matt. This was soon realized once another man jumped on stage, this time minus the '80s exercise garb.

Dressed in black skinny jeans and sporting some über-fashionable (and probably not even prescription) glasses, this man also proceeded to jump around.

“We’re Yea Big & Kid Static,” they finally explained.

They then proceeded to request that the audience follow them in some stretches. Eager for a performance, the audience stretched and cheered and beamed, adorably so, at Yea Big & Kid Static.

After the two deemed their muscles to be reasonably loose, they opened up a small Mac laptop and hit play on some instrumentals.

They each gripped their microphones forcefully and began spewing rap, blowing up the entire field verbally.

I’m not sure whether or not their rap was really all that great, to be honest, but the energy they forced upon the audience was irresistible; everyone was immediately jumping up and down for Yea Big & Kid Static, grabbing with eager hands at the two as they jumped and dashed around the tiny stage.

Their songs highlighted a myriad of important issues. “Eatchyo samwich, eatchyo samwich, eatchyo eatchyo eatchyo samwich,” they rapped at one point; at another, they informed us that “the future’s lookin’ grim.”

The crowd (surely delirious from all that waiting) went crazy for Yea Big & Kid Static for a good 45 minutes until the two comic-book characters departed ever so humbly from the stage.

I’ll cut past the more waiting straight to Matt and Kim, who, when they took the stage a while later, were sporting the widest smiles I’ve ever seen.

The reason, Matt informed us, was that just minutes before the concert they had discovered that they had received the 2009 MTV Video Music Award for Breakthrough Video for “Lessons Learned.”

In the “Lessons Learned” video, Matt and Kim strip down to their birthday suits in the middle of Times Square during February. Pedestrians, of course, stop and stare, their faces filled with disbelief. At the end of the video the police arrive, grabbing onto Matt and Kim, who promptly wrestle themselves free and run off smiling.

Matt punches the air. Gargoyle photo by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

Kim drums powerfully. Gargoyle photo by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

They were ready to party with Champaign-Urbana, Matt said, and they would play until they were forced to stop.

The crowd throbbed for Matt and Kim, sometimes violently so. Everyone pushed one direction, and the people in that direction pushed the other way, creating a mosh pit that was, apparently, irresistible for of the more daring teenagers who had themselves lifted up onto (or just jumped upon) the hands of the crowd, surfing their way around.

Unfortunately, one of those rambunctious crowd surfers was not properly supported and took a rough fall, injuring his lower back and requiring for him to be carried away on a stretcher.

Everyone was soaking wet with a sweat medley, grabbing at each other's clothing to avoid being swallowed by the crowd, and singing at the top of their lungs.

Matt and Kim are an adorable pop duo, but there was something pure rock about their show; the thrashers didn’t get exhausted till the show was over, and hands remained in the air, flailing and grasping.

The girls to my left looked at me aggressively and shoved back, somehow expecting a 5-foot-3 teenage girl to repel the boisterous crowd; the couple to my left clung onto each other and kept their eyebrows tilted, terrified and apologetic.

The audience sang their way through Matt and Kim’s greatest hits such as “Daylight,” “Good Ol’ Fashioned Nightmare,” “Yea Yeah,” and “Lessons Learned”; Matt punched the air triumphantly and addressed the crowd fondly while Kim smiled so widely that I could’ve sworn she was crying.

Poor Kim was, however, sick, so she requested the audience’s assistance for the chorus of “Lessons Learned,” and they gave it by creating an energetic chorus, so willing to do anything for the Brooklyn demigods.

The show ended (metaphorically, duh) with a “Pow!” or a “Kazaam!” or any number of action noises that indicated the pinnacle. The audience was smiling, Matt and Kim were smiling, and everything was absolutely splendid.

Everyone either stumbled back to their cars, scattering across the lawn and parking lot, or waited around to squeal at Matt and Kim and to take the souvenir picture. The daze seemed to contagiously hover over Parkland, caused by a sort of concert Cloud Nine and love-at-first-sight with Brooklyn’s cutest kids.

More Photos: Other shots from the concert

Yea Big & Kid Static took the audience by surprise when they stepped up to the stage. Gargoyle photo by Sindha Agha (click any photo to enlarge and to create your own slideshow)

Yea Big & Kid Static address the crowd. Gargoyle photo by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

Yea Big & Kid Static dance around. Gargoyle photo by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

The crowd goes wild for Yea Big & Kid Static. Gargoyle photo by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

Another shot of Yea Big & Kid Static. Gargoyle photo by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

Yea Big & Kid Static stomp around the stage. Gargoyle photo by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

A fan reaches out to touch the rapper. Gargoyle photo by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

Yea Big & Kid Static stretched to warm themselves and the audience up. Gargoyle photo by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

Another picture of the stretching. Gargoyle photo by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

Yea Big & Kid Static start the show as dusk falls. Gargoyle photo by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

Yea Big & Kid Static during their last song. Gargoyle photo by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

Matt plays the keyboard. Gargoyle photo by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

Kim is a blur as she beats the drums. Gargoyle photo by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

Despite having a cold, Kim played energetically. Gargoyle photo by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

Kim helps Matt with the chorus to "Lessons Learned." Gargoyle photo by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

The crowd goes crazy for Matt and Kim. Gargoyle photo by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)