She & Him (6/5/10 First Avenue, Minneapolis)
by Scott Lyson
June has arrived, and so has the concert season. In the previous five months I’ve attended five gigs, with only one really leaving me quite satisfied. One of my complaints with a couple of those gigs has been the setlist. She & Him played at First Avenue two summers ago, promoting their first album Vol. 1. Now they’re back again promoting Vol. 2. I did have confidence that even with two albums, She & Him would deliver a satisfying show. Actress Zooey Deschanel and musician M. Ward comprise She & Him. Zooey writes all of the original material and thus takes up the majority of vocals while Ward hammers out the riffs on guitar. The band lineup was slightly modified from two years ago, this time including the Chapin Sisters on backup vocals. The Sisters also opened the show, and much more effectively than Becky Stark did previously. On the penultimate number in the Chapin Sisters’ opening set Zooey came out to round out the three part harmonies on a song, and after a short intermission She & Him came out ready to rock from the opening number.
About half of the 20 or songs (and around a 90 min set) came from Vol. 1, several selections from Vol. 2, with a few covers as well. Upon entering First Avenue the ticket attendant asked what my favorite tune of theirs was, and I hesitated, and responded with the Beatle cover from Vol. 1. “I Should Have Known Better” was left out of the set again, but it wasn’t at all missed. I think the greatest strength about She & Him is the quality of the songs, and how well the flow together smoothly. There are a few more rockin’ tracks that have become the singles, but the slower more subdued songs have a home just the same. The set did alternate between Volumes 1 and 2 smoothly and included the M. Ward song “Magic Trick” – which had been a request from someone in the audience. A few members in the audience did cause some disruption on the GA floor, and Zooey stopped between songs twice asking that flashes be turned off.
Apart from the audience, the only other complaint I had with the show was the encore. A cover of “Fools Rush In,” which I believe was recorded pretty recently, and is available to watch and download through their website. One might conclude that because the songs were so interchangeable that they might sound too similar to each other, but on “Magic Trick” and the following number “Gonna Get Along With Out You Now” Zooey sported a telecaster shaped ukulele. Something I had never seen before. The band did do plenty of altering instruments throughout the evening, guitars, keys, even swapping the bass a couple times, and like last time Zooey and Ward played a few songs without the band. The end of the setlist was packed with their more well known songs, “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here,” “In The Sun,” “Sweet Darlin’,” which amounted to a thrilling crescendo of a conclusion, but as I said, the encore “Fools Rush In” dropped the energy considerably.
I feel the band was really tight, hitting all the spots, and plenty of new material created a great program. She & Him delivered another marvelous show that couldn’t be tarnished by some unruly audience members. Hopefully, in two years time (or less) they shall return with more material and continue to build upon these fantastic performances. It seemed that this time Zooey’s popularity as an actress helped sell-out the show, but next time if they stop by First Avenue, it will sell-out be because of the performance they just delivered.
4.5 of 5 stars
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