live: she & him, the living sisters

“With harmony, you can’t fail. When you sing it wrong it’s hilarious, and when you sing it right, it’s beautiful.” At least that’s Becky Stark’s philosophy. Last night at Bowery Ballroom, The Living Sisters — aka the power trio of Lavender Diamond‘s Stark, singer/songwriter Eleni Mandell, and the Bird and the Bee’s Inara George, who is very pregnant and was replaced by substitute sister Alex Lilly — celebrated their debut LP Love to Live by singing harmony-based songs that were both beautiful and, yes, a little funny. At their worst, the ladies were a bit pitchy, but at their best it was hard to tell who was voicing which part.

Backed only by an acoustic guitar, the trio went through tracks like the easygoing “Ferris Wheel,” with the lyrics “Hold tight, I’m feeling crazy tonight,” the doo-wopping “Double Knots” with accompanying handclaps, and the Andrews Sisters-channeling “How Are You Doing?” With curtsies, choreographed swaying and matching dresses, the set was indeed precious, but throwing in lines like “All right, all you sexy motherfuckers” kept the crowd on its feet.

She & Him, whose week-old Volume Two is ripping up the eMusic charts, followed with a 22-song (!) run that covered the better part of both their records. Even if Zooey Deschanel has already proven herself as a musician, this was still strikingly different than an average indie rock show: Fans shouted more obnoxiously than usual between songs (“You’re so cool, Zooey!” “What was it like to interview Brian Wilson?!”), enough that she had to respond with “Too much conversation!” — and it was obvious when the band rushed into a couple of songs to avoid further banter.

Deschanel still might have a little ways to go before she’s totally comfortable on stage: There were times when she looked nervous shaking her tambourine, and her vocals sometimes got lost when she looked down at the organ keys. But M. Ward was always off to her right with a smile for moral support — he mostly contributed his sultry baritone vocals from there, but stepped out in front for his solos, which got him about as many shouts of “ow owww!” as Deschanel. Through sped-up versions of tracks like “Ridin’ In My Car,” “Over It Over Again,” and “Don’t Look Back,” Deschanel jumped up and down, while Ward’s reverb-drenched guitar howled. The Chapin Sisters provided backing vocals to match Deschanel’s hard alto that, at times, had touches of both Judee Sill and Skeeter Davis (whose “Gonna Get Along Without You Now” was covered on Volume Two and at the show).

The encore started with a full-band rendition of Ward’s song “Magic Trick” and ended with both Ward and Deschanel pounding on the same small organ as they closed it out with “Sweet Darlin’.” Annoying crowd and presumed nervousness aside, this was a blast.

Setlist:
Ridin’ In My Car
Thieves
Black Hole
I Was Made For You
Me And You
Lingering Still
Over It Over Again
Change Is Hard
I Thought I Saw Your Face Today
Brand New Shoes
You Really Got A Hold On Me
Take It Back
Gonna Get Along Without You Now
Sentimental Heart
Sing
Home
Don’t Look Back
This Is Not A Test
In The Sun

Encore:
Magic Trick
Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
Sweet Darlin’

The Living Sisters:

She & Him (many thanks to Bowery Ballroom for FANTASTIC lighting…right):