She & Him Bring Country Charm to Toronto to Start Tour

"You guys all look so great and you sound so great too!" gushed actress Zooey Deschanel (the titular "She") to a smitten audience at the Opera House in Toronto, opening their premiere North American tour. "So do you!" shouted one concertgoer in return.

Whether you were lost in Deschanel's baby blues or not, original songs like "Black Hole" and "Change Is Hard" boasted a rootsy, alt-country flavor, relayed by an experienced band that includes Lavender Diamond's Becky Stark. But there's also a "Him" involved in this equation: Portland's M. Ward, whose surf punk guitar solos and low-heeled harmonies were the shadow to Deshanel's sunshiny Linda Ronstadt-like vocals. Deschanel's melodic tenor got its strongest showcase during a cover of Joni Mitchell's "You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio," the evening's obligatory Canadian content.

"This is our last song," she revealed to sighs of disbelief, bridging into the poppy "Sweet Darling" that featured an extended piano solo with both her and Ward tickling the ivories. "It's true — we only have one record!"

She & Him Set List:
"Black Hole"
"Change Is Hard"
"I Was Made For You"
"Sentimental Heart"
"You Turn Me On, I'm A Radio" (Joni Mitchell cover)
"You Really Got A Hold On Me" (Smokey Robinson cover)
"Take It Back"
"(Untitled New Song)"
"Got Me"
"Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?"
"This Is Not A Test"
"Sweet Darling"
"Bring It On Home To Me" (Sam Cooke cover)
"Magic Trick" (M. Ward)

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Star Trek' Is Crazy Good
• 
  TV 10 Shows to Watch This Summer
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“I'm Yours”

Jason Mraz | 2008

Jason Mraz re-emerged after his disappointing second album with this lead single, a Jack Johnson-esque ditty about giving yourself fully to someone else. The success of the reggae-tinged song (it earned two Grammy nods and a spot on the Billboard singles chart for well over a year) was something the folk-pop singer never predicted when he wrote it in 15 minutes at home. "I played a happy-hippie chord progression that would probably work without 50 different Bob Marley songs," he told Rolling Stone. "I thought, 'It's too novelty. This is a nursery rhyme,'" concluding that "you can never guess what's gonna be a hit."

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter