She and Him... and the rest of Vancouver

By Carlie Auclair [health bureau chief]

Zooey Deschanel may have yet to become a household name, but in some indie circles she is widely recognized as the spritely young triple-threat that sings lead vocals for the indie band, She and Him. The duo is backed up by Portland, Oregon indie-folkster M Ward, who is responsible for the group’s surf-rock guitar licks. Vancouver’s Orpheum Theatre was where the band chose to end their North American Tour and those who attended the sold-out show would probably all agree that they went out with a bang.

Vancouverites may have expected what you would usually expect from a band with a beautiful doe-eyed indie celebrity as its lead singer. Sure, listening to their albums is enjoyable but sadly it seems that trying to come up with a really good live band these days is a fruitless endeavour. But despite celebrity-turned-musician prejudices, the She and Him show was one of the most entertaining and stimulating musical experiences that this reviewer has had the pleasure of attending in a very long time.

Concerts can be a bittersweet gamble on the ears and the wallet. It is not unusual to get excited about a particular group, grab a couple tickets to their show and then be disappointed by their live performance. Seeing how costly these mistakes tend to be, one can become “concert shy.”

Nonetheless, I figured I’d give it a fair shot.

The beginning of the show opened with the silken harmonies of The Chapin Sisters, which includes Abigail and Lily, daughters of folk singer Tom Chapin. Their folk pop melodies were a concoction of bluegrass jazz and the sopping wet siren girls from blockbuster O Brother Where Art Thou. The willowy sisters captured the audience in a 45 minute set and did not fail to deliver. My personal favorite was their haunting acoustic rendition of Britney Spears’s “Toxic”, which turned out to be their most striking number of the evening.

Once the crowd was good and warm, the headliners bounced onto the stage and got right down to business. It was when Deschanel, made her entrance in her vintage Frye boots and sassy black dress, that it became apparent who the crowd was there to see. Judging by the carbon copies that littered the audience (all adorning her signature Marianne Faithful fringe), it was clearly no secret that this band retains quite a cult following.

Without wasting time the band jumped into a variety of songs like “Me and You”, “Take it Back” and “ Change is Hard” from their 2008 debut album, Volume One. The pace seemed slightly rushed and mildly out of tempo, but once the band got into their groove the night managed to truck along.

Deschanel’s sweet soprano voice was best showcased in the band’s ukulele-driven cover of “Wouldn’t it be nice” by the Beach Boys , and my personal favorite Joni Mitchell’s “Turn me on I’m a Radio”, which sent a waterfall of chills down my Joni-loving spine. Finally they requested audience participation for their summer hit “In the Sun” and encouraged dancing for “Ridin in my car”.

Once the show wrapped up, it was no surprise an encore was soon in store as a roadie not-so-discreetly reentered the stage to tune the guitars while hoards of cheers filled the theatre.

As expected the band returned to shower the audience in more covers such as Ricky Nelson’s bubbly “Fools Rush In” and Chuck Berry’s “Roll over Beethoven”. It was only during Screamin Jay Hawkins’ “I put a spell on you”, when we got a real feel for Deschanel’s meaty vocal chops.

The songbird’s notes dipped and dived like a rogue rollercoaster on the loose, but each note managed to find its way, clear as a bell and razor sharp.

Despite the lack of stage banter and, at times, sloppy musical timing the audience left the concert bewitched by the California sun-drenched sounds of She and Him, if not even more in love with the leading lady than we were before–if that’s possible.