Blog Post
Eliana Cargnelutti -Bannermans, Edinburgh 17 November 2021
Iain McArthur • Nov 24, 2021
Live Review
Yeah, I still don’t know how to pronounce it properly either and it doesn’t help that the surname was spelt wrong on the ticket too. Despite that, Italian guitarist/singer Eliana is making a bit of a name for herself on the Blues circuit with some fine performances and tonight at Bannerman's, her first ever gig in Scotland, was no exception.
It’s a three-piece band on this UK trek, featuring absolutely virtuoso performances from Carmine Bliosi (drums) and Simone Serafini (bass). The missing man is Michele Bonivento on keyboards, and that’s perhaps why there were surprisingly few selections from the excellent current album ‘AUR’ – it’s Italian for gold – and that’s a shame as there are some absolute crackers on it where Eliana crosses over into rock territory on fuzzed-up bangers like “Breathe Again” with its Thelma & Louise style video. Happily, “I Don’t Know” does get an outing, without the horns that feature on the CD of course, but still a highlight and “I Won’t Change” closes the main-set in style.
So definitely a blues-heavy set list and Miss Eliana has nothing to prove on that score with excellent vocals, great guitar playing and a very likeable if under-stated stage presence. There are at least a couple of familiar and well-played covers; “Tush” that she played on the “Girls with Guitars” Blues Caravan album and also “Angel from Montgomery”. It takes a brave woman to try the latter after the likes of Susan Tedeschi and Bonnie Raitt have had a go but, of course, she does it justice. Eliana seems to enjoy herself on “Eliana’s Boogie” and she’s on the floor freakin’ out with the pedals at the end of the encore and the modest midweek crowd certainly go home happy that they’ve had their money’s worth and they will definitely remember the name.
Eliana and her band are back in the UK in January next year, and that will include her second ever Scottish gig at the excellent Backstage at The Green Hotel in Kinross on Thursday 20th January 2022. I can certainly recommend that great wee venue to any East of Scotland music fans. It’s a lovely room stacked with memorabilia and is a very easy 45-minute commute from Edinburgh with on-site parking, so much more enjoyable than a rush-hour slog into the centre of Glasgow after work. A venue worth checking out and supporting and you’ll enjoy Eliana’s set too.