She & Him – Orpheum Theatre – October 24, 2010
I can’t think of many other actress / singer’s side projects taken as seriously as Zooey Deschanel & M. Ward’s ‘She & Him’
The buzz surrounding this project is huge! Since my friend David and I didn’t know their music very well we thought we’d check out what the buzz was all about. This gig at the beautiful Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver and the last one on their world tour, certainly lived up to it!
Although we were a bit put off by the “No Photographs” signs posted on the doors and the hawkish security guards around the auditorium. Soon the poppy goodness of Zooey’s lovely folk inflected voice won us over. As she bounced around the stage with her tambourine, M. Ward displayed his serious guitar skills.
Soon the ‘hipster’ heavy audience warmed up and the duo seemed to warm up too, loosening up onstage. Half way through the set Zooey invited everyone to get on their feet and dance, which the whole audience took to heart, many of them rushing closer to the stage. Security seems to have loosened up a bit too as they allowed the fans to crowd the stage as well as take photos. Zooey did make one point to ask people not to take flash photos so not to temporarily blind them on stage.
The 90 minute set comprised songs from their two albums; Volume One & Volume Two, interwoven with some classic cover songs well suited to their alt-folk style. In fact their encore was completely covers; Fools Rush In, Roll Over Beethoven and I Put A Spell On You. The arrangements of the old songs blended well with the new and put the distinct ”She&Him” stamp to the whole set. Overall the cuteness of Zooey’s stage presence, combined with the serious musician vibe of M. Ward made for an amazing night. They said “we’ll be back” and I hope they are soon…I’d go see them again!