She and Him Play First Kentucky Show at Forecastle Festival

Near the end of their 75-minute set Sunday evening at Waterfront Park's Forecastle Fest in Louisville, Ky., M. Ward, half of the co-ed duo She and Him, said, "This isn't too shabby for our first time here."

Ward and Zooey Deschanel have been touring in support of their sophomore record, 'Volume Two,' but it was the first time they ended up in Kentucky. Their oldies-inspired tunes meshed well with the southern crowd and Deschanel resembled a country crooner with her light blue dress and flower in her hair.

With a full backup band in tow, the group opened with 'I Thought I Saw Your Face,' which generated lilting and twangy summer harmonies. Deschanel stationed herself at the keys while Ward strummed his guitar on the sidelines, occasionally joining in on vocals. The audience swayed along to the catchy jingle-jangle of 'Thieves,' the toe-tapping 'Black Hole' and the band's covers of 'Ridin' in My Car' and 'Gonna Get Along Without You Now.'

"Hi, Louisville, you guys are awesome," Deschanel decreed to the crowd. The set ended with Deschanel jumping around onstage and pelting a tambourine on 'Sweet Darlin' from the duo's first record, 'Volume One'. The band walked offstage but came back for a surprising two-song encore of oldies covers. Ward amped up his guitar for the Chuck Berry classic 'Roll Over Beethoven' before Deshanel said, "This time we mean it, just one more."

The pair then went into a bare bones version of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' 'I Put a Spell on You,' with Ward slowly plucking his guitar while Deschanel hit high notes and transformed the song into a sultry rendition akin to Nina Simone's cover. As the song drew to a close, the duo walked offstage, leaving another guitarist to continue with a soulful coda that eventually faded into the humid summer night.