Cut to a couple of weeks ago, when my friend Alana who works in PR e-mailed Erica and I about an Audi event in which She & Him were performing. "Would you like to come?"
Oh an event held in an Audi showroom with a small group of partying people enjoying free drinks and hors d'oevres? YES. YES YES YES YES.
Last night - after rushing home to welcome my dear husband back from tour, then promptly bidding him adieu - Erica and I met up at the Audi showroom on 47th and Park. I didn't even know there was a showroom in New York. The crowd was definitely a mix of downtown folks (I spotted model Jessica Hart) and auto industry people. We saw some badges around necks: apparently this week is the CMJ of the auto industry.
So Erica and I sipped the free champagne and discussed how excited we were for She & Him. And we discussed buying a car:
(Yes, all I had was my iPhone and that light was RIGHT on me! Ick!)
And while the DJ was playing some great songs (straight out of an Erica Dagley night at Trainwreck, lemme tell you), we decided to go right up to the stage that She & Him would be performing on. We saw setlists! (And also signs not to take any pictures, not even cell phone pictures, of the band. Damn.)
AHHHH! You realize how amazing this setlist is, right?
I mean it started off with the song Jesse and I put on our wedding mix! And NRBQ = "Ridin' in My Car, a cover from the newest She & Him album Volume Two; it's a great, great duet song. And they even did M. Ward's song "Magic Trick." SO GOOD! They sounded amazing! Zooey played the ukelele, they both got together on the keyboard at one point, Zooey was bouncing around to each song. They put on a really fun live show.
And yeah, I was three feet away from Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward! Literally: front row, no barriers or security guards. I placed my champagne flute on the stage in order to dance.
Here's a pic Erica sneaky-snapped:
Zooey and the backup singers! Here are some professional wire images:
That photographer was right beside us. And! At one point Zooey entreated everybody to dance - "nobody will remember seeing you dance tomorrow" - and so, obviously, Erica and I got down in the front row thinking everybody else would as well. When we took a look back: nope, nobody was dancing, and a lot of people were just standing there "taking it in" while Erica and I were singing along.
After the show I was walking to the restroom when someone stopped me - I turned and saw all of the band members (minus M. Ward and Zooey) and they told me thank you for dancing! They said that nobody else was dancing except for me and my friend and "we played for you guys!"
I DIE.
I then proceeded to tell them how awesome the band was, how awesome they sounded, and how awesome they were to notice me. I rambled, admitted, but I was just so excited. I shook all their hands and thanked them and then excused myself, trying to cut myself off from looking like a ranting and raving fangirl. Accomplished, methinks?
Then Alana told us Christy Carlson Romano from the tv show Even Stevens was in attendance. Erica and I nearly flipped out because, um, we used to love that show. No, seriously, we talk about that show at least once a month...and often lament at how funny Shia used to be. Then:
Us and Christy Carlson Romano! She talked about her off-broadway show and some joke that was made about her in Hot Tub Time Machine - but we haven't seen it, so we don't know what the joke was? Ha. I am seeing that soon, for sure! She was so personable and lovely, and we may or may not have invited her to hang out in the future.
Then! We saw M. Ward come out to talk to his band members. We went over and I told him what an amazing show it was, and he thanked us for being the only ones into it. Yes! And then I asked him for a photo - and he obliged though I could tell he hesitated. I think She & Him have some strict photo policies...but:
OH YEAH!
He was incredibly nice and we had a good conversation regarding his new album and how I've been trying to go to a She & Him show ever since I heard Volume One. At one point I said, "even my husband was working all his music connections to get me into that Bowery show!" and then he asked what my husband did and I explained Motion City Soundtrack. So fun. Matt (as he introduced himself) and Richard (I think that's what he said his name was - he's a guitarist for the band) told us that they hoped to see us dancing at the next show. We told them, of course! ....well, if we even get into the next show. No future show could top last night's though!
So we said bye to them and rejoined Alana and thanked her profusely and then the drummer from She & Him walked up to me with the setlist and said, "it's not much, but it's all we've got, thanks for coming!" Then him and the band were heading out the door and they all waved bye to us.
WOO HOO!
Thank you, dear readers, for letting me geek out on you and get fangirly. THANK YOU!
