Current:Home > FinanceIs there a better live sonic feast than Jeff Lynne's ELO? Not a chance. -Secure Growth Solutions
Is there a better live sonic feast than Jeff Lynne's ELO? Not a chance.
View
Date:2025-04-17 15:04:52
WASHINGTON – Six years ago, Jeff Lynne delighted fans when he brought his Electric Light Orchestra to the U.S. for the first time in decades.
Never one to tiptoe out of his preferred studio confines with any regularity, Lynne nonetheless crafted an absolutely dazzling production stocked with gripping visuals (in a pre-Sphere world) and perhaps the most pristine sound ever heard at a rock show.
Guess who’s back and as aurally flawless as ever?
This Over and Out Tour – a believable farewell given his age (76) and the reality that he isn’t a road dog – is in the middle of its 31 dates and will wrap Oct. 26 in Los Angeles. At Capital One Arena in D.C. Wednesday, Lynne, still shaggy, sporting tinted glasses and mostly in supple voice, didn’t have much to say other than many humble acknowledgements of the crowd’s affection. But who needs to blather on when there is a brisk 90-minute set of lush ‘70s and ‘80s classics to administer?
More:The Eagles deploy pristine sound, dazzling visuals at Vegas Sphere kickoff concert: Review
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
ELO dropped a setlist that romped through '70s classics
Aside from the opening “One More Time” – obviously chosen for its literalness – from ELO’s 2019 album “From Out of Nowhere,” the sonic feast concentrated on the band’s ‘70s output, seesawing from Top 10 rock smashes (“Don’t Bring Me Down”) to deep cuts (“Showdown”).
Complementing these impeccably recreated gems was a slew of eye candy. Lasers and videos and spaceships (oh my) buttressed each offering in the 20-song set, with an animated witch morphing into a creepy eyeball (“Evil Woman”) and green lasers enveloping the arena like ribbons in the sky (“Telephone Line”).
Lynne’s band was loaded with familiar names from the previous tour, including the rich string section of Jessie Murphy (violin) and Amy Langley and Jess Cox (cello) and standout vocalists – really more than mere backup singers – Iain Hornal and Melanie Lewis-McDonald, who handled the heavy lifting on the giddy “Rockaria!”
One unexpected offering, “Believe Me Now,” was added to the setlist a couple of weeks ago. An instrumental album track from ELO’s 1977 mega-selling double album, “Out of the Blue,” the song, an intro to the equally moving "Steppin' Out," exhales chord changes so sumptuous, they’ll make your eyes water.
More:Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band still rock, quake and shake after 50 years
Jeff Lynne and ELO say goodbye with a smile
But that’s a feeling frequently evoked during the show, coupled with the joy of hearing these sculpted beauties one final time.
The crisp opening guitar riff of “Do Ya,” the disco-fied “Last Train to London,” the wistful dreamscape “Strange Magic,” all unfurled with precision, but not sterility.
A sea of phone lights held aloft accented “Can’t Get it Out of My Head,” a technological illumination replacing the lighters that reigned 50 years ago when the song was released.
But that all preceded the standout in a show stuffed with them – the musical masterpiece “Turn to Stone.” Between the rapid-fire vocal breakdown nailed by Hornal and Lewis-McDonald – which earned its own ovation – and the furious, frenetic build to a musical climax, the orchestral pop dazzler electrified the arena.
Close to the bliss of that corker was show closer “Mr. Blue Sky,” an anthem of optimism that still sounds like sunshine. Bassist Lee Pomeroy high-stepped through its Beatles-esque bouncy rhythm while Lynne and the band traded layered harmonies on the pop treasure.
It was as obvious a closer as “One More Time” was the opener, but really, how else could Lynne leave a multigenerational throng of fans other than with a smile?
veryGood! (84414)
Related
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- FBI investigating after gas canisters found at deadly New Year's crash in Rochester, New York
- Rams' Kyren Williams heads list of 2023's biggest fantasy football risers
- Harvard president’s resignation highlights new conservative weapon against colleges: plagiarism
- A steeplechase record at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Then a proposal. (He said yes.)
- Spaniard imprisoned in Iran after visiting grave of Mahsa Amini arrives home after release
- These 20 Shopper-Loved Cleaning Essentials Will Have Your Home Saying, New Year, New Me
- 2023-24 NFL playoffs: Everything we know (and don't know) ahead of the NFL Week 18 finale
- Oklahoma parole board recommends governor spare the life of man on death row
- Patriots assistant coach Jerod Mayo responds to 'hurtful' report about his approach with team
Ranking
- Breaking debut in Olympics raises question: Are breakers artists or athletes?
- Halle Berry Ushers in the New Year With Risqué Pantsless Look
- Elections head in Nevada’s lone swing county resigns, underscoring election turnover in key state
- Nicki Minaj calls this 2012 hit song 'stupid' during NYE performance
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- Japanese transport officials and police begin on-site probe after fatal crash on Tokyo runway
- Judge rules former clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses must pay $260,000 in fees, costs
- Zvi Zamir, ex-Mossad chief who warned of impending 1973 Mideast war, dies at 98
Recommendation
Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
Man shoots woman and police officers in Hawaii before being killed in New Year’s Day shootout
Things to know about Minnesota’s new, non-racist state flag and seal
As Atlantic City adds more security cameras, 2 men are killed in areas already covered by them
RFK Jr. closer to getting on New Jersey ballot after judge rules he didn’t violate ‘sore loser’ law
Missouri governor bans Chinese and Russian companies from buying land near military sites
Michigan, Washington bring contrast of styles to College Football Playoff title game
Man shoots woman and police officers in Hawaii before being killed in New Year’s Day shootout