Zooey!

J2 & I went to First Avenue last night to see Zooey and some guy... Ward, Matt Ward. Yeah, whatever. She was the one we wanted to see. mmhmm. J2 admitted to having a crush on her ever since he saw her in "The New Guy".

I, of course, no longer have crushes. Much. But she sure got my attention in "Elf" with her shower-curtain duet on "Baby, It's Cold Outside" with WIll Farrell. And tonight, she did not disappoint.



We were thinking beforehand what to compare this act to? After hearing her tonight I think... a little Rilo Kiley/Jenny Lewis (if she were smoother), a little Belle & Sebastian (if they were more alt-country), a little The Bird and the Bee (if they were more acoustic), and a little Patsy Cline (if she wasn't dead.)

Get the idea?

The opener was one of her backup singers, who was a blend of Minnie Pearl and Emmylou Harris. If they were both a lot younger.

She was willowy and wore slinky dresses that made her look just like a mermaid, but she had a dopey delivery that was countryfied and droll.



Then Zooey and this Ward guy both came on stage and functioned as her backup while she did a half dozen more songs. It was so cool to see the headliners in a supporting role for the opening act. Very humble and selfless - not full of themselves.



From time to time, especially on the country numbers, the pregnant bass player would join in, and they'd do three part female harmony that sounded a whole lot like the "Trio" album of 20 years ago with Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris. Then Matt Ward would get out his electric and play some surf guitar licks and zoom - they'd be in the sixties doing some Smokey Robinson or Sam Cooke / Lou Rawls.



Interesting blend of musical styles, $10 CD at the merch table, hard cider on tap, and a fun night for both of us. :)

Good hangin' with you, kid...