Elsiane @ Club Soda 18/04/12

Elsiane is a local Trip-hop duo playing a show dedicated to the launch of their latest album, Mechanics of Emotion. It's their first album in over 5 years, and the fans have waited patiently. This was certainly not the show to miss. Because I went to this show on a whim, I didn't have a ticket beforehand. When I saw the line outside, filled with people waiting to get in, I was kind of surprised by how many people show up. I was worried that I wouldn't have a ticket, but after a little patience, I got myself a ticket and headed straight for the front. I got myself an excellent spot, right at the front, dead-center. Right in front of Elsieanne, the vocalist. The venue is a two-floor building, a ground floor and balcony. The house was full. You couldn't have fit another soul in that building. I was lucky to get a good spot. Onto the show.

Like I stated earlier, Elsiane is a duo which consists of singer-songwriter Elsieanne Caplette & drummer Stephane Sotto. They weren't alone though. With them was multi-instrumentalist Annick Beauvais who played Bass, Oboe and Keyboard and Cellist Sheila Hannigan. Every one performed very well, but the drumming stole the show. Very energetic drumming through out the night. Annick had some great Oboe solos as well. Sadly, I found that Elsieanne's vocals were a little underwhelming, depending on the song. She has a very soft voice, so whenever a strong climax, a lot of the time, didn't hit the spot for me. They weren't bad at all though, just to soft at certain times. They impressed the fans so much that they didn't just come out for one encore, but two! For the second encore, Elsieanne came out alone and sang an acapella version of one of her songs. My personal highlight of the evening was when the cellist came out. Nothing but Elsieanne on vocals, a cello and Stephane banging on a wooden box instead of drums. Syncopated rhythms on a wooden box. It sounded amazing.

Also bought myself their first album.