You're going to regret having missed this show. I know for a fact you weren't there. Don't pretend to be hip on the music scene.

elsinore played a great set at Indy CD & Vinyl on Friday, August 17, 2007. Hailing from Champaign, Illinois, they had a surprisingly small following. It consisted of me, some members of Everthus the Deadbeats and two shoppers. Rick, owner of Indy CD & Vinyl, knows how to pick some good music. He's a fan of elsinore, rightfully so, and they definitely deserve more attention than they received. Maybe I can remedy that.

Lyrically, elsinore is as polished as a Shakespearean play. A great writer, the lead singer Ryan Groff pulls emotions from an audience by putting his own out there. In his words, in his voice, you're meant to feel his music.

The band holds it together. They've got it goin' on, if you know what I mean. "Four-part harmony, ringing guitar, piano and organ, lick-filled bass lines and a hybrid hand percussion/drumset create an Americana-Folk-Rock landscape around elsinor," as they're described at www.elsinoremusic.com. Keyboardist Mark Woolwine, bassist Chris Eitel and drummer Dave Pride flow and ebb with Groff and with each other so well. Acoustically sound, they were the best band I've heard in such a small setting in a long, long time - actually, since I saw Howie Day in a private-set concert in 2001. And Howie was solo.

Harmony. Boys II Men made their career out of it. These guys use it as though they were picking blackberries from bush while on a hike in Alaska. It's that cool. Just seamlessly falling into harmony with each other. From their MySpace website, take a listen to "Cannonballs," which will lend you evidence of Groff's talent alone and the talent of the band - harmony and all. Beautiful. I don't have to tell you to continue on to listen to "Timid Maggie Mae" because I know you will. Appreciate the midwest sound these guys jam out and also check out Ryan Groff's solo work. Those present at Indy CD & Vinyl received a 2-for-1 treat: we heard a set of music from the band and bonus tracks of solo Groff at the end. They're crowd pleasers for sure.

elsinore and Ryan Groff himself are big supporters of the midwest and all that come from it - the song "People in the Mid-West" attests to that - so you should support them as well. Check out their tour page for upcoming shows and beg them to come back! Then show up!