Chicago fans fall under She & Him's spell

August 5, 2008, at Park West

By Amy Formanski
Published: August 7th, 2008 | 12:20pm

Walking into Lavender Diamond's performance felt like a scene from a 1940s movie. Singer Becky Stark sang old-fashioned pop songs and wore a flowing white dress. With a red flower in her hair, she swayed her arms side to side like a hula dancer. Stark gushed that opening for She & Him every night made her feel like she was in “love, love, love” all the time.

One member of her band, an adorable brunette in a sequined vintage dress, sang backup for Stark and also played piano on a couple of songs. I didn't make the connection that this was Zooey Deschanel until Stark's set ended and She & Him's began. Deschanel took center stage in her sparkling '60s-style dress and this time Stark sang backup. The same band that Stark declared her love for just minutes earlier played behind actress-musician Deschanel and her partner in crime, singer-songwriter M. Ward. The band launched into “Black Hole” and Deschanel jangled a tambourine with a grin on her face. During “I Was Made for You,” which sounded like a girl-group number, made for a sock hop, and she cheerfully bounced from one foot to the other.

Deschanel's dancing stopped when she played piano throughout the set, including “Sentimental Heart,” “Take It Back,” and the Carpenters-esque “I Thought I Saw Your Face Today.” Audience members yelled that they loved her or that her singing was great, but Deschanel responded only briefly and with dry wit. At one point, she couldn't understand what someone shouted to her and she told them they had to enunciate more.

No one could criticize Deschanel's voice, which projected with such clarity and power that it was sometimes startling. Her vocals shone on the first song of the encore, a cover of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' “I Put a Spell on You.” She belted out such a mournful wail that channeled Janis Joplin, and the crowd howled back in appreciation. Ward added Spanish-flavored guitar and Deschanel had to fan herself to cool down.

While the Hawkins tune blew the house down, other covers songs garnered mixed results. Deschanel and Ward shared vocals on an acoustic version of “Your Really Got a Hold on Me” but seemed oddly detached from one another. Their take on Joni Mitchell's “You Turn Me on, I'm a Radio” fared much better — we picked up her signal loud and clear. However, I felt relieved that their cover of the Beatles' “I Should Have Known Better” was left off this set list. The Fab Four's songs are sacred and She & Him's recorded version just doesn't cut it.

Hopefully Deschanel will continue to write her own songs and not lean so much on covers. She's got a knack for writing sentimental love songs that ooze intellect instead of sap. Since she included a couple of new original songs during the evening, the future looks solid. She and Ward connected with the audience, particularly when they sat at the piano together at the end of “Sweet Darlin'” and got everyone to clap along. And despite her aversion to small talk, Deschanel blew us kisses at the end ands said we were “the best audience ever.” Aw, I bet she says that to all the audiences. What a charmer.