Current:Home > FinanceIs there a better live sonic feast than Jeff Lynne's ELO? Not a chance. -前500条预览:
Is there a better live sonic feast than Jeff Lynne's ELO? Not a chance.
View
Date:2025-04-13 22:23:48
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! (175)
Related
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- Claim to Fame's Gabriel Cannon Says He Uses Google to Remember Names of Brother Nick Cannon's Kids
- Men are showing their stomachs in crop tops. Why some may shy away from the trend.
- Why Miley Cyrus Says Her and Liam Hemsworth’s Former Malibu Home Had “So Much Magic to It”
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- UNC-Chapel Hill grad student Tailei Qi charged with murder in shooting death of professor Zijie Yan
- Hungary’s Orbán urges US to ‘call back Trump’ to end Ukraine war in Tucker Carlson interview
- Forklift operator dies in accident at Boston’s Logan International Airport
- Why members of two of EPA's influential science advisory committees were let go
- Dozens dead from Maui wildfires: What we know about the victims
Ranking
- 'Malcolm in the Middle’ to return with new episodes featuring Frankie Muniz
- Soldiers in Gabon declare coup after president wins reelection
- What should I consider when offered a buyout from my job? Ask HR
- Singer Ray Jacobs, Known as AUGUST 08, Dead at 31
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- Stock market today: Asian shares boosted by Wall Street rise on consumer confidence and jobs
- Texas drought exposes resting place of five sunken World War I ships in Neches River
- A robot to help you order pancakes? IHOP enters the AI game with online order suggestions
Recommendation
House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
You can see Wayne Newton perform in Las Vegas into 2024, but never at a karaoke bar
Oher seeks contract and payment information related to ‘The Blind Side’ in conservatorship battle
Hurricane Idalia menaces Florida’s Big Bend, the ‘Nature Coast’ far from tourist attractions
Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
When's the best time to sell or buy a used car? It may be different than you remember.
Election deniers rail in Wisconsin as state Senate moves toward firing top election official
Michigan man won $835k this year after winning online lottery twice