I think a general conclusion can be made when heading out to your local venue such as El Cid: if the opening act has people packing the front of the stage way before the set time, you're in for a special set. That is what I experienced prior to Ella Woolsey (the moniker for Ella Carlson) taking to the stage. Her fans packed the front of the stage and I could feel the buzz of excitement. A number of people had already bought her merchandise.
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| Ella Woolsey at El Cid |
There was a minimalism to her set. The stage was already set up for the main act Operelly. Prior to singing her unreleased "bonnie" she had to ask if someone in the audience would come up on stage and turn off Operelly's snare drum for her. For her, the stage had a microphone and a wooden Spanish colonial dining chair (El Cid is the venue). She herself wore a white lace dress and knee high boots that blended well with the Spanish decor of the venue.
She may have an understated personality, but she was going to have a perfect stage entrance. She waited just off stage until the lights came on bright before walking in front of the crowd, which roared with anticipation. Many of the songs she introduced were met with cheers and screams from the audience. A perfect example of this would be "bed u made," which was not only met with the aforementioned reactions, but also had the crowd bringing out the phones to record the moment. Off to the side, two young people were squeezed against the wall, one leaning over onto the stage to do some personal recording.
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| Ella Woolsey at El Cid |
Her song "do good for me" didn't even need an introduction. Just a few guitar chords were played and the crowd knew exactly what song was next on the setlist. As the set came to a conclusion, she mentioned that she would be out at the merch table. Excitement hit the crowd with that announcement. The crowd sang along to the final song of the set "damn navy" and as soon as she made her way off stage, there were those who rushed to the exit.
Comment of the set when the lights went red: I like the red.
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| Ella Woolsey at El Cid |
Her set included many songs from an EP that will be released this summer. What should one expect from the album? Well, in this Instagram post from The Daily Trojan, she describes her singer-songwriter music as "evil genius."
The song spotlight goes to "a million," which will likely be on the upcoming EP. "You're amazing," was heard as she was tuning for the song. Then she mentioned that she was playing the tune and the crowd erupted and she responded with, "I love it, too." My take on the lyrics is that one can take it in the context of trying to benchmark yourself against how others live their lives. As the saying goes: Keeping up with the Joneses; and perhaps realizing that there are financial drawbacks to trying to live life that way.
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| Ella Woolsey at El Cid |
Oh, but I spent all my money on these clothes.
Partial Setlist: sadie, bonnie, a million, bed u made, do good for me, Super Special Outing, charlie, damn navy.
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