In The Presence of Something Great

          For those of you who don't already know, last week we saw more or less the "Big Break" of one of our favorite local bands, Elenowen. We had found out that they were playing a FREE show right outside of campus so obviously we were pumped for a great show. We were all introduced to Elenowen last semester when they played another free show that pretty much blew away all of us. We all thought the same thing: "Why have we never heard of these guys before?" 

         So we went to this show fully expecting a great show and needless to say, we weren't disappointed. Then we were greeted with quite an unexpected surprise. After finishing their first or second song, the owner of the venue came up on stage and handed the band an envelope that was entitle The Voice. I personally had no idea what The Voice was, so I was completely lost. As she opened and read the envelope, it was easy to see that something big was going down. She read it and said in a voice that really showed true joyfulness and excitement, "You have made the final cut for The Voice!" (or something like that, I was thoroughly confused as to what exactly was happening). Quickly, I had someone explain what this mysterious The Voice was. I soon saw the importance of what had just happened. The Voice is basically ABC's version of American Idol or something like that, and Elenowen had just made the final cut for the show, which means that they would be on TV and get tons of exposure. The next thing we knew there were these big TV cameras coming out of nowhere. Elenowen was asked to repeat the act of opening the envelope and acting surprised so they could get the reaction on camera. It was clear that the band was maybe a little too flustered by the excitement that they couldn't really make it seem realistic. We (the audience) were also asked to give a standing ovation at least 4 or 5 times. I lost track after the third. After all the hooplah (yes, I did just say hooplah) died down, we were treated to one of the best shows I've seen in quite some time. One of the highlights include a folked out cover of the Spice Girls' Wannabe. It was AWESOME.

          As for some background information on Elenowen, here it goes. Elenowen is basically the husband and wife duo of Josh and Nicole Johnson. They released their first cd about a year ago and are currently working on a releasing a new one sometime soon. As for genres, I've never been one for just labeling bands with a genre but if I had to, I would call Elenowen a folk band with some basic, subtle country influences. Many of their songs are co-written, which gives each song a certain kind of dynamic that is hard to find. That said, the subjects of most of their songs revolve mainly around Josh and Nicole as they have gone through their first year of marriage. Every once in a while, I'll hear a guy and a girl singing, and it'll give me goosebumps because their voices just go so well together. Elenowen is pretty much the definition of that feeling. PLEASE check them out and support them, because they absolutely deserve it.

          I couldn't find any quality videos on Youtube, so the best I can do is paste a link to their Myspace. http://www.myspace.com/elenowenmusic. Enjoy.