One cannot help notice the indie rock pendulum swinging towards that of the guy-meets-girl variety. Many of these twosomes are creating some wonderful noise, with the female vocalist usually leading the way. This micro genre is gaining serious ground – from Mates of State to the Tings Tings to Rodrigo y Gabriela to Fiery Furnaces. And, let's not forget She & Him and Beach House, who are arguably two of the most exciting indie rock female-male duos in recent years, both of which I saw at sold-out performances on consecutive Thursday nights in Cleveland.
Standing before the stage at both The House of Blues for She & Him and The Beachland Ballroom for Beach House, I found myself huddled among the masses, feeling as if everyone around me was about to run a race, eagerly waiting for the starter's pistol. In this scene, it would be the dimming of the lights and the strumming of the first chords that set the crowd into motion. I could nearly smell the fire and flurry of enthusiasm from those around me (or maybe it was simply body odor).
As each show's set list unfolded, She & Him's fans seemed consistently enthralled, while the Beach House audience grew almost apathetic and perhaps predictably passive. This is the point where the asymmetry began and the parallels I had been drawing came to an abrupt halt.
Led by actress-turned-singer Zooey Dechanel, She & Him is balanced by her right hand man, M. Ward aka Matthew Stephen Ward, who has been a part of such indie stalwarts as Bright Eyes and Monsters of Folk. Ms. Dechanel and Mr. Ward have been banging out their indie folk/pop country tunes since meeting on the set of the film The Go Getter a few years back, and have risen to the top of the indie charts with a little help from their hipster cred and legions of fans that want to be (or want to be with) "she". The band is currently touring in support of their second album, simply titledVolume Two.
Amidst the The House of Blues toe-tapping and hand-clapping crowd, I initially found myself underwhelmed, as I yawned throughout the set's first half, which was monotonous and tame. Early on the set, I couldn't help but cringe while observing Dechanel's seemingly contrived, overtly twee and awkward stage presence - especially when abruptly asking the audience whether they could please refrain from taking pictures. l later read that it's actually M. Ward who does not appreciate cameras flashing. Perhaps he should pick a less desirable bandmate.
It was not until the latter part of She & Him's set that they begin to restore my faith (and jolt me back awake) as they truly hit their stride and visibly felt more comfortable in the musical skin of their first album Volume One. The rejuvenated pair flaunted fan favorites, including "I Was Made For You", "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here" and closing with "Sweet Darling." At this point, the crowd was swooning and responded with a showering of applause, pleading with She & Him not to make it a night (I am sure the band wanted to be on their way early, since they were headed down to play a slot at Bonnaroo festival the very next day). After a brief interlude they returned to stage and flat-out charmed the hell out of the crowd with two beautiful covers: "Fools Rush In", originally performed by Ricky Nelson, and "I Put A Spell On You", originally by Cleveland native Screaming Jay Hawkins.
The following Thursday I found myself amidst another soldout crowd, but this time at The Beachland for Beach House, who had clearly graduated from playing The Grog Shop during their last visit, now holding court in the Ballroom. On this particular evening, The Beachland was warm on multiple levels - the air of summer's approach surrounding us, the swarming buzz of a packed house, and the hypnotic, balmy sounds that permeated the room. The duo of Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally comprise the blissed out dreamscape that is known as Beach House. They are currently touring in support of their third long player, titled Teen Dream, which made up the majority of their set.
Throughout the performance, Legrand's head banged while she sweat along with the rest of the crowd, who swayed from tune to tune on the the lush musical terrain Beach House creates. Legrand's coarse, sultry voice is at times off-key but works so well - much like that of Rod Stewart, but moreso Kim Carnes (I would love to hear Beach House cover "Bette Davis Eyes"). The band has really honed their chops on the new record with fantastic producer, Chris Coady, who in the studio has brought out the best of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's, TV On The Radio, Grizzly Bear and Blonde Redhead, just to name a few. Their latest musical efforts shows how the band has really grown into their sound and matured like a young wine with plenty of good juice.
Although the venue was sold out, Beach House maintained an intimacy normally found in smaller clubs. It's as if they sweep you away to a tranquility you never want to leave - like a vacation home – or beach house. As they played their final song, the disco ball hanging from the middle of the ceiling started spinning, seeming, dare I say, magical. Their sound felt all encompassing, with the reverb cranked as it could have easily filled the cavern that can sometimes be The Beachland.
Ultimately, it was as if Beach House and She & Him each played the inverse venue that would have most benefited their sound. Even better, if She & Him could have somehow been booked to play at The Winchester and Beach House at The Ohio Theatre in Playhouse Square. Both settings would then perfectly capture the essence of each band's timeless, if retro, auras. [She & Him photo by Autumn de Wilde]
