Current:Home > MarketsIs there a better live sonic feast than Jeff Lynne's ELO? Not a chance. -ProfitEdge
Is there a better live sonic feast than Jeff Lynne's ELO? Not a chance.
View
Date:2025-04-24 23:41:34
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! (364)
Related
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- NYC bus crashes into Burger King after driver apparently suffers a medical episode
- Biden signs bill strengthening oversight of crisis-plagued federal Bureau of Prisons
- Inside Christian McCaffrey’s Winning Formula: Motivation, Focus & Recovery
- Questlove charts 50 years of SNL musical hits (and misses)
- Publisher plans massive ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ reprints to meet demand for VP candidate JD Vance’s book
- Spicy dispute over the origins of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos winds up in court
- Olympic wrestler Kyle Snyder keeps Michigan-OSU rivalry fire stoked with Adam Coon
- North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
- Paula Radcliffe sorry for wishing convicted rapist 'best of luck' at Olympics
Ranking
- Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
- An 11-year-old Virginia boy is charged with making swatting calls to Florida schools
- Aaron Boone, Yankees' frustration mounts after Subway Series sweep by Mets
- Chicken wings advertised as ‘boneless’ can have bones, Ohio Supreme Court decides
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- Are schools asking too much for back-to-school shopping? Many parents say yes.
- West Virginia official quits over conflict of interest allegations; interim chief named
- Crews search for missing worker after Phoenix, Arizona warehouse partial roof collapse
Recommendation
Person accused of accosting Rep. Nancy Mace at Capitol pleads not guilty to assault charge
Get an Extra 40% Off Madewell Sale Styles, 75% Off Lands' End, $1.95 Bath & Body Works Deals & More
West Virginia official quits over conflict of interest allegations; interim chief named
USA Basketball players are not staying at Paris Olympic Village — and that's nothing new
Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
Days before a Biden rule against anti-LGBTQ+ bias takes effect, judges are narrowing its reach
How Kristin Cavallari's Inner Circle Really Feels About Her 13-Year Age Gap With Boyfriend Mark Estes
Are schools asking too much for back-to-school shopping? Many parents say yes.