Despite the blazing heat, droves of people rode the ferry to Governor's Island yesterday to hear She & Him, their performance being part of the free "Gone to Governors" concert series this summer. The enormous line at the Battery Maritime Building Manhattan departure point proved a bit of a hassle; the advertised four-minute travel time from there to the island turned to twenty-some minutes.
Once the show began, though, the performers did not fail to please. The Brooklyn-based opening psych-rock band Oakley Hall featured distorted guitars, organs, an amplified fiddle, and lots of nodding heads. The main attraction She & Him, comprised of actress Zooey Deschanel and folk singer M.Ward, especially got the crowd moving with what Hidden Track has called Deschanel's "throaty cooing and spirited yips and squeals" and Ward's "surf-style licks." Word on the street (beach?) was that Deschanel's hubby Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie also was in attendance.
Most of the crowd arrived hours before the 4 p.m. show—some already setting up shop on the beach not long after noon—so future Governors Island concert-goers should take note to get there early: The venue filled quickly, and those without show wristbands were promptly turned away and told to enjoy the quaint bike lanes and promenade up the hill (or maybe catch the free Rosanne Cash show).
Upcoming tunes at the Governors Island beach concert series: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, M.I.A., Corinne Bailey Rae, Josh Ritter, Grizzly Bear, Neon Indian, and more!
