Carpe Diem Live

Carpe Diem Live is the third concert tour by American recording artist Elice Claire to promote her third studio album Carpe Diem.

Revue Press
Elice Claire is one of Britain's favourite singers, selling millions of records in the UK. From a small town in Texas to an Uraps Award-winning artist, she has performed at venues from Wembley Arena to supporting Alesha in her North American stadium tour. This very special concert-tour at the Hall will include a selection of songs from Elice’s forthcoming album 'Carpe Diem' and previous ones as well. Elice will be accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra and London Philharmonic Choir, conducted by Anthony Inglis. You wont want to miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to see Elice live. Tickets go on sale Monday, 7 May 2012.

Fan revolt and tour extension
Tickets for the tour sold out within 30 minutes after it was available for purchase. Fans who were unable to get tickets, took their frustration to the twitter, claiming the singer should go on a nationwide tour, instead of having all dates at one venue. Some fans argued that some of the tickets sold weren't even bought by fans, but rather people who thought the show was a "Pre-BBC Proms" event. On 11 May 2012, Elice addressed the wave of hate and the reason for not extending the tour. On twitter Vitz wrote "Someone in my management just told me that the UK shows sold out within 30 minutes. That's insane guys, all 41,000 tickets. Loads of angry tweets and people asking for new dates. It breaks my heart to say that unfortunately we cannot add more dates to the tour. Albert Hall has been booked for the rest of the summer by BBC Proms. It starts the weekend after I am done with the tour. =( I genuinely wish I could perform a few more dates at the RAH, but unfortunately that wont be possible. Sorry my loves. E xx" (sic). A few days after Elice announced she would not be extending her tour, fans created an online petition, where more than 100,000 signatures were recorded. On June 4, 2012, the day Elice's long waited single "Empire of the Falling Stars" was released, Elixir Entertainment revealed new dates for the UK tour. Due to high demand for tickets and limited amount of time, the label decided to use Arenas instead of Halls. Elice mentioned in previous interviews that she preferred Halls since she wanted a more intimate show. A few days after the additional dates went on sale, all the tickets were sold out. This is Elice's first sold out UK tour.

Royal Albert Hall concert review
Reviewed by Lili Francis from NME on 29 July 2012. Kicking off her first song at 9:00pm, Elice led off with "Seize the Day". With a backing orchestra and choir, and with subdued percussion (represented by a timpani), the song took on a very organic and vintage feel. Led by Elice’s surprising vocals so-to-say, the song was uplifting and beautiful. Case in point: 1 girl in front of me was crying when the song finished, while her 2 friends fought back tears. The next song was "Mon Destin Douce (C'est Une Belle Vie)", and once again, the orchestral backing made the song feel more important, and even more epic than the studio version. Again, the percussion was barely noticeable, with the timpani being quite subtle. Followed by "A&E" where Elice actually got teary eyed in the middle-8. In the end of the song, she addressed to the crowd that the song was very meaningful to her because she wrote it after her breakup, and she was still very much in love with her then-fiance Adrian Donovan. "Forever's Not for Always" was next, which didn't fully live up to its original version, although the strings made up for the quiet percussion. After the song, Elice noted that she’s never been so nervous in her life, and keeps looking around at the beauty of Royal Albert Hall, which is almost making her forget the words. Next up was "Never Let Go", which had a slower, less driving chorus. The song also included elements from Pietro Mascagni's classical piece "Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana". Elice took the time after the song to wave to every section of the crowd, even those up in the upper arches. "Every Broken Heart" followed, with Elice demonstrating some quite amazing vocals at the end, with the harpist playing a great harp outro that left the entire crowd begging for more. Elice noted that when she set out, she never thought she would be playing at Royal Albert Hall. The band played "(From Here) Watching Over You" followed by a gorgeous Damien Rice medley that left me speechless. The classical take Elice did on the medley made it very unique, the only small problem I came across were her vocals, but that was only a concert due to the fact Vitz and Rice have different ranges and tones. Before playing the next, Elice explained that she had made a mistake releasing that song to represent her third album, Carpe Diem, because she felt the song was very different from the rest of the album. "Empire of the Falling Stars" was given a different classical take, while all the chantings were removed. She noted afterwards that she wants to talk to the crowd between songs, but she is still so nervous. The orchestra backed off for "Someone Else" while the electric guitar and drums played a large role on the performance. The harp played a good role in the song, adding a more light feel to the song. After finishing the song, Elice took a 5 minute break to change, while she changed the band played "Carpe Diem Symphony". When Elice returned to the stage, the crowd went insane, her dress completely blew us all away. The first song she performed was "Collision" where the guitar and drums played a big role. "Manifest of the Eccentric" followed with a more sensual and classical take compared to the album version. Elice then performed "Bittersweet Dayfall" where the orchestra completely backed off and Elice became a rock'n'roll chick. Vocal wise, this was Elice at her best. "Letters from a Broken Heart" with its calmer and deep chorus, followed. Elice told that crowd that the next few songs were all very special to her and that she hoped the audience would help her out in case she broke down. Up next Elice performed the beautiful "Cloud Nine" where the orchestra played a massive role. Elements from Sigur Rós "Dauðalogn" were clearly heard in the song. Towards the end of performance Elice finally cracked, having tears running down her cheeks. She tried keeping it together, but it was clear to everyone the song hit home for her. She explained to the crowd how the song was written for her father, who passed away in 2010 and that this was the second time she ever performed the song. The next song was the dazzling "Review" which is one of my favorite Elice song ever. The orchestra and choir played a huge role on the track, with the harps adding a sweet-dreamy feel to the song. "Safe Haven" followed and perhaps became the highlight of the show, both vocally and emotionally. Elice's tone on the song blew everyone away, while the choir added a different spin to the song. Towards the end of the song, Elice explained that "Safe Haven" was the song that freed her from all the heartaches and despair she held for so long. Elice ended the night with the massive "Scattered Echoes". The upper circle of Royal Albert Hall got out of their seats and sang along as they waved their arms around. Elice played in total for 115 minutes, without an encore, despite the crowd’s best attempts to bring her back out. Initially, with the orchestra sitting there, people were expecting Elice to walk back out, but once they packed it in, so did the crowd. Overall, the show was pretty amazing. The first few songs were incredible, with the orchestra bringing an interesting dynamic to Elice's live show, complementing her vocals so well. Elice also sounded perfect, which was better than many live performances I’ve seen on YouTube, so I was pleasantly surprised by that. As noted above, I would’ve loved to hear a few of the up tempo and huge choruses remain that way, but given the instrumentation, it wasn’t entirely possible. Would I go to another Elice Claire concert? you can bet your socks I would!

Setlist

 * 1) "Seize the Day"
 * 2) "Mon Destin Douce (C'est Une Belle Vie)"
 * 3) "A&E"
 * 4) "Forever's Not for Always"
 * 5) "Never Let Go" (contains elements from Pietro Mascagni's "Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana")
 * 6) "Every Broken Heart"
 * 7) "(From Here) Watching Over You"
 * 8) Damien Rice Medley ("9 Crimes" / "Accidental Babies" / "Cold Water" / "Amie")
 * 9) "Empire of the Falling Stars"
 * 10) "Someone Else" (contains excerpts from Elice's "Mercy")
 * 11) "Collision"
 * 12) "Manifest of the Eccentric"
 * 13) "Bittersweet Dayfall"
 * 14) "Letters from a Broken Heart"
 * 15) "Cloud Nine" (contains elements from Sigur Rós "Dauðalogn")
 * 16) "Reverie"
 * 17) "Safe Haven"
 * 18) "Scattered Echoes" (contains excerpts & elements from Elice's "Carpe Diem Symphony Trilogy")

Box office score data

 * † Eight dates combined.