She & Him Rock Out on the Tambourine and Triangle

She & Him at the Bowery last March. (www.brooklynvegan.com) Photos weren't allowed at last night's show.

Last night, the folk/indie band She & Him put on a wonderful, sold out show at Terminal 5.  The large, barren room was packed with fans, the room swelteringly hot.  But, showing dedication to the band, very few left before the end of the encore.

The opening act, strangely enough, was not musical but comedic – comedian Eugene Mirman, a Brooklyn resident and author of The Will To Whatevs, a humorous guide to modern life (HarperCollins, 2009).  His topics ranged from the Tea Party and Obama to a twelve-year-old with Asperger’s to those stupid security questions credit card websites ask you.  While the question is generally something along the lines of “What is your mother’s maiden name?” Eugene took the liberty of changing the question to “What are you wearing?” so that he can respond, “I don’t think that’s appropriate!” to whomever is asking on the line.  He was well received by the fans.

The room only got more packed and the crowd more eager as the night wore on.  When She & Him came on, the room erupted.  As effortlessly glowing as she was in 500 Days of Summer, Zooey DesChanel nonchalantly asked how the crowd was doing and jumped into “Change is Hard,” a sleepy, soulful ballad, while the crowd loudly sang along.  During her more fast-paced songs, she jumped up and down while playing the tambourine, her long brown hair flailing around her.  The show, with Zooey’s twangy voice and retro songs, had a 60’s vibe to it.  Zooey, very at ease on stage, did not hesitate to stop a song a few seconds in to change the octave.  Lead guitarist M. Ward sang along in a few memorable duets. The two back up singers sang and rocked out on their tambourines, while occasionally playing the triangle, a subtle touch to the alt-country songs. 

In addition to girls in dark-rimmed glasses and long boho dresses, I was surprised to see a fair amount of male fans singing along merrily.  The burly man behind me sang both the guy and girl parts to “You Really Got a Hold on Me” and got really into the chorus, which goes, “Hold me, hold me, hold me….”

The band played three covers for the encore.  Certainly one of the highlights of the show, the band closed with Nina Simone’s “I Put a Spell on You,” featuring just M. Ward on a few vocals and guitar and Zooey on vocals.  The song featured her impressive range, as she wailed, “No, I ain’t lyin!!” The memorable show left the fans begging for more.