she and him at the great american 2 march 2008

four facts about she & him:

1. zooey deschanel is an actress of moderate renown.
2. despite being known primarily as an actress, or distinct from it, zooey deschanel can sing reasonably well. [important side note: this does not mean that a cover of, say, “i put a spell on you,” which closed the band’s first ever concert last sunday night, will diminish nina simone by comparison.]
3. m.ward’s first name is matt, and people who listen to a specific kind of independent music (like a.g.) really like him. with just cause. also, he enjoys playing the guitar. also, he wears the kind of snap button shirts i tend to like.
4. if you’ve heard any of the pair’s first collaboration, volume one, then you know exactly what it’s like to see them play those songs live.

in further explanation of point 4 (four): from the few promotional and behind-the-scenes videos i’ve seen of bands in a studio recording, you know, where they’re wearing sweatpants or ripped jeans and headphones and sing into those black circular mesh nettings sound engineers use to keep lips off of microphones, the interstices between takes of a song or suite of a song are passed more or less silently while said singer takes a sip of water, adjusts what needs adjusting and so forth. and so it was for she & him at the great american on sunday, with very little interaction with (save the odd catcall) or even much acknowledgement of the audience between tunes. this struck me as both a bit odd (especially in consideration of zooey’s performance pedigree) and, yes i'll say it, mildly disappointing.

the actual songs zooey and matt played were all fine, some of them – particularly the first single, “why do you let me stay here?” and “sentimental heart” and their covers of smokey robinson and sam cooke – really rather warm-hearted and pleasing. which you already knew if you’ve heard the record. the most noteworthy aspect of the show – leaving aside, for a moment, the tremendous line outside the venue and the very palpable (and perhaps somewhat disproportionate) enthusiasm within – was that few of the songs came alive in the playing. but it was their first ever concert, you say, you said so yourself just above there. fair point. a live show can and usually does evolve. and she & him are plenty talented enough to uphold the maxim. in the meantime, the goings on are, if not especially memorable, then certainly enjoyable.

she & him - sentimental heart

(ps - zooey's still adorable.)
(pps - i stole that picture above, which is of zooey during this show, from adrian.)

there was a sizable contingent of blog correspondents at the show, some of whom have provided their own takes, which you can find, to start, here, here & here.