The Recipe for the Magic of Meg Elsier
june 16, 2025 - toronto, canada
House lights go down and stage spotlights go on, the instrumentalists take their positions, and in a blur of white, a bubbling singer dashes from stage left. The bright grin from the bleach blonde reverberated across the venue walls as she giggled out, “I always forget to say this, but my name is Meg Elsier!”
The second track of the set, “iznotreal” is an ode to fantasizing and daydreams accompanied by gritty guitar riffs. In the studio version, the track begins with applause – this sample was easily supplemented by the live audience, eating up the singer's grunge track with a sea of hands waving along to the metronomic beat and existential lyrics.
As Elsier prepares for the deluxe edition of her debut album, spittake, set to release July 25th, she gave a taste of the new release to the crowd with a performance of “sportscar (scrapped)”. The trio set into the song following the frontwoman’s introduction to each member, and fittingly, what car they drive. The track plays as a cheeky commentary on growing up by way of car metaphors, while finding solace between folk-rooted instrumentals, glittery synths, and Elsier’s bright voice.
As they have spent the last week or so opening up for Blondshell, Meg Elsier quipped that she wanted to be friends with every person in the crowd, “I swear every Blondshell fan looks and dresses so cool!” Elsier, drummer Hayden Cotcher, and bassist Jashaun Smith then hopped into a stripped-down version of Gwen Stefani’s “Cool” just to prove the audience and their voices were singing the words right back at the band fits the song’s namesake.
The 2024 release, “Forlyleinsanfransisco” was the perfect and final gateway to the end of the set. The cinematic track begins with scratchy guitars, then abruptly rides the build-up with a continuously driving beat. This song is possibly the closest you can get to being in a car on a summer day, your head out the window and hair whipping in the wind…while somehow still remaining physically in the venue.
Meg Elsier creates a golden musical recipe through distinct and bright vocals, rusty shoegaze references, and a dash of universally felt lyrics of existential growing pains. The aforementioned ingredients, mixed with the singer-songwriter’s bubbling personality and expert stage presence, make for a larger-than-life show that lingers well beyond an opening slot.
