27 July 2008

She & Him @ Terminal 5, NYC July 26, 2008

Honestly, what could be better then making a living by prancing around on stage in a shiny dress with a tambourine? Really I have so few answers to that query after seeing She & Him last night. The oh-so-coy Ms. Zooey Deschanel batted her eyelashes and belted out her old-timey tunes, leaving me very pleased, and just a teensy bit jealous. I want her voice! I want her body! (Seriously, could you pull off that backless number and four-inch heels? Didn't think so.)
And so Zooey sang and M. Ward strummed (along with a full backing band too) playing lots of album cuts, a couple of covers (including an unrecorded Joni Mitchell one) and even a new song which sounded just dandy. Of course I feel really bad for the poor suckers stuck in the back of the venue. For those of you non-New Yorkers here's the part where I vent about how Terminal 5, a cavernous, 3,000 capacity venue is really, really unideal for most bands with guitars, especially quieter, folksy acts (Iron & Wine is slated to play there in November, bad, bad call on the promoters part). The acoustics are not the greatest and the sight lines leave much to be desired (especially for those of us who barely crack the 5 feet mark). As one guy who got stuck in the back during a recent Raconteurs show put it, "it's like seeing the best band possible...in your high school gym". But considering I got their relatively early and managed to stakeout a spot fairly close to the stage, I'm not complaining one bit.


Oh and to add to the girly goodness, Becky Stark lead singer of Lavendar Diamond sang back-up and even took the spotlight for three minutes, as she sang a lovely rendition "Garden Rose". If you like She & Him, you'll totally dig Lavender Diamond's sound. It's also in the same love-lorn, sepia-tinged aesthetic. Becky also wears pretty dresses, making it one awesome night of cutesy overload sensory stimulation. Like I said, I'm not complaining.


I Was Made For You - She & Him
Garden Rose - Lavender Diamond

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I attended this show and I agree with all of your comments regarding the music and overall performance, but I am a loss to understand how you could overlook Ms. Deschanel's very unfortunately bony frame (which is a new development). I respect and admire her deeply for her many talents, and I was genuinely saddened to see her looking unhealthy. Ribs are not supposed to be visible as far up on her body as they were, and backbones are not supposed to be that prominent. Her choice of dress for the evening would have been lovely if I could have ignored the bony protrusions. I hope that the weight loss can be attributed to temporary stress, and that it's not indicative of some larger issue. She and M. Ward and the band sounded fabulous and it'd be great to see them in NYC again one day.

Jess said...

hey linda,
that is actually a very excellent point. i too noticed her ribs protruding and felt a tinge of worry. however, i don't want to contribute to any unfounded speculation about her body either. i just hope she's alright too. let's hope we'll see (and of course hear!) more from them in the future.