She & Him pack the Cradle

Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward played to a sold out crowd last night at the Cat's Cradle. The duo played a delightful 75-minute set of songs from their album Volume One as well as a few covers, a new song, an M. Ward song and a Lavender Diamond song. They squeezed 17 songs into 75 minutes so there was not time for a lot of banter, though Zooey did take time to tell the crowd how much she enjoyed the food in Carrboro.

"We've eaten better here than anywhere else, and we've been to a lot of places so far," she said, noting that the band had dinner at Lantern on Franklin Street but hadn't been to Carrburrito, to a slight boo from the crowd.

It's probably a safe assumption that about 98% of the population at Cat's Cradle was crushing on Zooey last night, dressed in a green rhinestone-bedazzled prom dress and sparkly headband. More cat calls came from the women in the crowd than men as Zooey bounced around the stage, tambourine in hand.

The duo was backed by four musicians including Becky Stark (of Lavender Diamond) on backing vocals, Stefanie Drootin (of The Good Life and Bright Eyes) on bass, Mike Coykendall on rhythm guitar and piano and a drummer (anybody catch his name?).

The set was strong and Zooey's voice sounded great. She had taken a few shots for early performances where she didn't sound great and seemed uncomfortable on stage. She seems to be over that now and delivered a great performance and was playful on stage. She even stepped up and played piano on three songs, "Sentimental Heart," "Take It" and "I Though I Saw Your Face Today."

The set was pretty laid back, but once the band hit "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?," the energy level was kicked up making the last few songs of the night the high point of the show. Opening act, Freakwater came out during the last song of the encore to play Emmylou Harris' "Hello Stranger."

Speaking of Freakwater, the band opened the show with an HOUR LONG SET. Freakwater's run-of-the-mill folk country didn't excite the crowd, who got chatty after the first song of their set. Even when M. Ward and two other She & Him band members came out for the last two songs, the crowd reaction was mild at best. Freakwater is a respectable band doing what they do, but they seem more suited for the county fair circuit more than opening for the uber-hip She & Him.

Zooey thanked the crowd at the end of the night saying "You guys are the best, we should be applauding you!" before thanking their label, Merge Records. "Merge is the greatest label in the world," she said, the crowd joining in the applause.

She & Him's set list:

Black Hole
Change Is Hard
I Was Made For You
Sentimental Heart
(band leaves)
You Really Got A Hold On Me
You Turn Me On, I'm A Radio (Joni Mitchell)
Take It Back
And I Know (new song, uncertain about title)
(band returns)
Garden Rose (Lavender Diamond, sung by Becky Stark)
Got Me
I Though I Saw Your Face Today
Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
This Is Not A Test
Sweet Darlin'

Bring It On Home To Me
Magic Trick (M. Ward)
Hello Stranger (Emmylou Harris, with Freakwater)