Current:Home > MyIs there a better live sonic feast than Jeff Lynne's ELO? Not a chance. -Clarity Finance Guides
Is there a better live sonic feast than Jeff Lynne's ELO? Not a chance.
View
Date:2025-04-14 04:54:56
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! (63)
Related
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- NATO chief says Trump comment undermines all of our security
- Thousands of US Uber and Lyft drivers plan Valentine’s Day strikes
- College football coaching isn't nearing an apocalypse. It's changing, like every other job
- California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Monty Python's Eric Idle says he's still working at 80 for financial reasons: Not easy at this age
- Microsoft says US rivals are beginning to use generative AI in offensive cyber operations
- King Charles III Returns to London Amid Cancer Battle
- Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
- Dog respiratory illness remains a mystery, but presence of new pathogen confirmed
Ranking
- This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
- Dating habits are changing — again. Here are 3 trends and tips for navigating them
- How The Bachelor's Serene Russell Embraces Her Natural Curls After Struggles With Beauty Standards
- North Carolina tells nature-based therapy program to stop admissions during probe of boy’s death
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- Maple Leafs' Morgan Rielly suspended five games for cross-check to Senators' Ridly Greig
- Siemens Energy to build first US plant for large power transformers in North Carolina
- City of Memphis releases new documents tied to Tyre Nichols’ beating death
Recommendation
Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
Drake places $1.15 million Super Bowl bet on the Chiefs to win
Dakota Johnson's Trainer Megan Roup Wants You to Work Out Less
Watch extended cut of Ben Affleck's popular Dunkin' Super Bowl commercial
Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
NATO chief says Trump comment undermines all of our security
'More optimistic': January CPI numbers show inflation still bugs consumers, but not as much
Dating habits are changing — again. Here are 3 trends and tips for navigating them