She & Him in the sun

I had the excellent opportunity to hear She & Him free in Millenium Park last night, and came away a bigger fan than ever before. Sure, I've always enjoyed their twee, vintage-60s-pop-meets-classic-country-meets-surf-music vibe, but hearing them live, I realized this is no throwback vanity project. Adding in some extended solos and a big backbeat to many of the songs in their normally kitschy, short-but-sweet repertoire made for a rocking live-music experience. (I couldn't actually see the stage, but had an amazing view nonetheless!)

They played most of the songs from their two albums, Volume One and Volume Two, and threw in a couple of showstopping covers as well, including two favorites of mine, Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven" and Joni Mitchell's "You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio." As an encore, the amazingly talented Zooey Deschanel tore up a version of Screamin' Jay Hawkins'"I Put a Spell On You."

Head to the She & Him MySpace page to hear a couple of songs from the new Volume Two as well as favorites from Volume One. Then watch the charming video for my favorite Volume Two song, In the Sun:

She & Him - In The Sun from Merge Records on Vimeo.

As a bonus, here's video from the Millenium Park show of one of my favorite She & Him songs from the first album, "Sentimental Heart." Could she be any more adorable?