HIM AND HER AND: SHE AND HIM @ KIMMEL APRIL 23

The thing I love about shows at NYU is that I can roll out of bed and walk 100 yards to the Kimmel Center and get to see some pretty cool bands. Not that I’m usually in bed at 9pm but the opportunity is there and thats what counts. What I didn’t realize about this show was that it was in Skirball Auditorium, which is a seated venue.

I have a love hate relationship with sit down concerts. My favorite thing to do at concerts is scream my lungs out and just totally lose myshit with reckless abandon, which is something that is pretty much impossible at a sit down show, unless you decide to stand up, which most people don’t. On the other hand, your feet don’t get tired. So it has its benefits. And I think She and Him are a good choice for sitting down because their music is pretty low key, and benefit from a closer listen that is easier when you aren’t trying to dodge the drunkard next to you spilling their beer on your back.

The concert started off with opener Thao wih the Get Down Stay Down, which was an alt country/folk pop four piece from LA. I actually think Iliked them better than I liked She and Him, and I’ll explain that later. You know the type of person that, whatever comes out of their mouth is just totally hilarious and you keep giggling about what they said long after you saw them? That was how the lead singer of this band was. From the beginning she just kept telling this extended joke about when they played at another college, they were mis-scheduled and ended up having to open for the Ying Yang Twins. If I had been drinking milk it would have come out my nose. Thankfully I wasn’t. Their music was sort of like a fuller sounding Kings of Leon but with a female vocalist who kind of reminded me of a mix between Regina Spektor and Bjork. The kind of voice where the singer deliberately seems to distort themselves and cut of in weird places, but it comes out sounding totally beautiful. That’s what Thao sounded like. Their songs all sounded great but pretty similar to me, but this is not a type of music I listen to very often. The one song I do remember standing out was one where Thao started beatboxing in the intro, which was pretty badass.

Then She and Him (She being actress Zooey Deschanel, and Him being singer-songwriter M. Ward) took the stage along with the rest of their backing band with great anticipation from the crowd. There was this moment right before they started their first song that was total silence, and everyone seemed to be holding their breath. I thought to myself “Well, that was awkward”. But it didn’t stop there! That same moment of silence happened between like every single song! Finally Zooey said something in this really annoying baby voice “um…hi,” and everyone just burst out laughing. The thing was, she totally wasn’t funny. And she kept saying unfunny shit and everyone kept laughing. I felt kind of embarrassed for the crowd. Maybe it was because there was no alcohol for sale or something, but I couldn’t figure out why there was this strange aura about everything. Finally I leaned over to my friend Cara and was like, “Why is everyone acting SO awkward, I don’t think I can take much more of this.” And she was like “I think its because there’s a lot of sexual tension in the room. I mean, all the guys want to have sex with Zooey and all the girls want to have sex with M. Ward.” Leave it to Cara to bring up sexual tension, but she was totally right. The show felt kind of like a bad first date, with the both sides sort of muttering things desperately to engage the other person, and then overcompensating. Itwas just a really weird vibe.

Other than THAT though, the show was great. Zooey has a gorgeous voice, if a little too forcedly southern sounding, and it was suited perfectly to their slow blues rock style. Her harmonies with M. Ward were rather heart melting and beautiful. The only complaint I would have is that I thought they should have had M. Ward sing on his own more often, because its amazing on its own. My favorite song they did was actually a cover of “You Really Got a Hold on Me,” which emphasized how well Zooey and M.Ward’s vocals complemented each other. When they came back onstage for their encore, they brought the members of Yo La Tengo on with them, which was a nice surprise for a lot of people in the audience, like me, who love Yo La Tengo. Sadly, they didn’t actually play any YLT songs, they just shook maracas and played piano.

So, I’d say all in all it was an OK show. I’m sorry that my last two reviews have been kind of cynical but hopefully my faith will be restored tonight when I go see Foals at Bowery, so stay tuned for that. Sadly, my photo friend cancelled at the last minute so I don’t have any photos for you, but I will next time!