Tonight’s Saturday Night Special / TV Party Tonight! results from JCE’s desire to make you aware of a band that you probably haven’t heard, that he wants you to hear, and he thinks you should like.

Elizabeth II is a band from Washington, D.C. led by vocalist and guitarist Beth Cannon (and by the way, it’s Elizabeth the second, not Elizabeth 2).  Her band is one of the best, freshest sounding groups I have heard in awhile.  The music released by the band since its formation in 2017 is somewhat eclectic, but extremely consistent (consistently great).  There is a little of everything in the music; from punk to metal to pop.  I would describe it as edgy.  Edgy as hell as a matter of fact.  Elizabeth II has earned three WAMMIE Awards, which are given annually to the best of the best in the Washington D.C. area music scene.  The first thing you may notice is Cannon’s electric blue hair, but once you listen to the songs, you will realize that she is an exceptional guitar player (who teaches guitar by day, I have read).  There is so much to like with this band.

I first came across Elizabeth II in 2019.  I purchased tickets to see Canadian rocker J.J. Wilde at a small D.C. club called the Songbyrd Record Café.  The opening act was announced as Elizabeth II, so I promptly looked them up and found “Dark Chops” on YouTube.  I was instantly hooked on that song.  I went to the show with great anticipation of what I might see and hear, and I was not disappointed.  Beth Cannon and her band were smoking.  I thought every song was pretty much great.  The bass player that night was so spastic (not in a good way) that I couldn’t even look in his direction, but I had no reason to look at anyone other than the front woman anyway.  I will say again, her guitar playing is stellar, she can sing and she looked great on stage as well. 

Since seeing the band live, I have looked forward to and then loved each of the songs they have released.  There was a 2019 self-titled EP with six songs, including the aforementioned “Dark Chops.”  The other stand-out track from that EP is “Lonely,” but all six tracks are good.  A number of singles - five, I believe - have come out since then.  Of those, I have to mention “Arms of Another One,” which is the only ballad among all the songs.  Damn is it good--- and I usually only gravitate toward the rockers.  The most recent release is a song called “All My Failures.”  The song is bombastic, it rocks super-hard, slows down and then ricochets back up again.  The video captures the intensity of the tune, and the guitar solo near the end is just killer. (2:36 mark in the video.)

TV PARTY TONIGHT!

The fact that this is a D.C. band and I live an hour outside of D.C. and yet have only seen them once is something I plan to fix.  Now that the pandemic seems to be winding down, as soon as the band hits the stage again, I will be there.  Definitely check this band out. - JCE