She & Him - Live Review - House of Blues

Somebody must have told She & Him they were boring on stage, because they rushed through their concert at House of Blues last night, playing several songs at three times their normal tempo. Making their way through about 25 songs in less than two hours, the duo took the life out of tunes that usually breeze through the air like a warm wave of sunshine.

She — singer-songwriter and actress Zooey Deschanel — enchanted the sold-out House of Blues with her deep, rich pipes, while Him — songwriter and guitar maestro M. Ward — alternated between acoustic, electric, and slide guitar.

It sounds like a recipe for greatness, and if executed properly, it might have been. But Ward hid himself in the corner of the stage for most the night, while Deschanel took advantage of the spotlight by blandly hitting a tambourine as she stood squarely in front of the mic.

Backed by a full band, She & Him based most the set on their recently released second album, Volume Two, with a few tunes sprinkled in from 2008’s Volume One. Swaying ballads like “Thieves” and “Change Is Hard” were bland and uninspired, even with the flourish of keyboards, on-spot backup singers, and a skilled drummer, bassist, and guitarist.

In a welcome change of pace, Ward and Deschanel played a set of songs on their own. They put precious spins on Joni Mitchell’s “You Turn Me on I’m a Radio” and Motown oldie “You've Really Got a Hold on Me.”.

But it wasn’t until the end of the set that they actually started engaging the audience. Deschanel jumped up and down enthusiastically during “Ridin’ in My Car” and asked the audience to sing along to “In the Sun,” a fun '60s-inspired pop song with chugging guitars and a bright melody.

“She” sounded great, and “Him” drew his fair share of whoops from the crowd. Yet neither smiled much or even seemed to enjoy themselves. Their songs detail stories of falling in love and riding off into the sunset, but none of these emotions translated live. By the end of the night, we were all equally spiritless.

(Better pictures coming...)

She & Him Tomorrow @ HOB

What do you get when you mix a Hollywood starlet with a powerful singing voice and one of the most valuable folk songwriters of his generation? A band of pronouns. She & Him is a clever way of disguising the duo’s real names – Zooey Deschanel, of Elf fame, and M. Ward, the famed guitarist who most recently hit record store shelves with Jim James and Conor Oberst under the Monsters of Folk moniker. The pairing gives Deschanel a chance to showcase her songwriting skills, while Ward demonstrates his ability to adapt his production skills and guitar-playing to everything from blues to folk to Brill Building pop. She & Him have come under fire by music critics for “repackaging” retro into today’s new alternative, but fans don’t seem to mind their digging up of 60s AM Gold. On Volume Two, their sophomore record, they cover Skeeter Davis’ “Gonna Get Along Without You Now,” and bring Diana Ross to mind on the Supremes-flavored “Over It Over Again.” The Chapin Sisters, a band of three female sibs with killer harmonies, opens at 8:00 pm at the House of Blues (308 Euclid Avenue, 216.523.2583). Tickets: $22, advance; $24, day of show.

Village Voice on She & Him

Que interesante, Mike Powell.

A quote from a recent Village Voice article, re: She & Him.

"The interesting thing, if you care about "retro culture," is that She & Him are taking what was once mass-market pop music and repackaging it as something "indie" or alternative. Their statement of rebellion is to reject everything made after the early '70s. But lots of bands have done this, and done it with more creativity—Belle & Sebastian, say, or the Magnetic Fields.

I also find it weird that Deschanel and Ward talk about how comfortably they got along, because there's something essentially cold about Volume Two. The happy songs aren't happy, and the sad songs aren't sad: When they cover Skeeter Davis, they leave out the sass; when they copy the Ronettes or the Crystals, they leave out the teenage throb; when they reach for the Beach Boys, their professionalism eclipses their innocence."

The more I think about it and listen to it, the more She & Him just seems like a big ol' ploy to make lots of money. (It doesn't hurt that Deschanel refused to let me interview her on a feature story I was writing about their upcoming Cleveland show. Apparently she only does interviews in person, and I'm not the first to be rejected - Jill writes for Billboard.) I'm very curious to see how/if my feelings change when I see them next month.

(P.S. Hipster Runoff is right - M. Ward totally looks like a d-bag with his facial hair. No offense M! I do love you forever!)

She & Him - Volume Two

Zooey Deschanel isn’t exactly unpredictable. We heard it back in the day in “Elf,” again this year in “(500) Days of Summer,” and with M. Ward in ’08. It is her vocal style – timeless, saccharine-sweet, and void of any of that whiney crap you get with almost every female pop star today (Miley, we’re talking to you). Combine the Hollywood starlet with M. Ward, one of the most talented songwriters and producers around, and you have She & Him. Their combination is as winning this time as it was on their debut, Volume One. The second volume can be summed up with “Over and Over Again,” a charming 60’s girl group tune with “ooh la la la” back-up vocals, innocent piano plunking, and a beat built for cutesy side choreography. Deschanel’s no Diana Ross, but the Supremes would have loved this song. Ward and Deschanel’s “Gonna Get Along Without You Now,” a Skeeter Davis cover, is an instant classic. The duo reach their cuteness quota on “Lingering Still,” a terrifying beach vacation number with so much pedal steel that you won’t be able to hold down your pina colada. Still, this album is an absolute gem – the kind of record you’ll smile through “over and over again.”