Photos by Andy Keilen/Kia Forum Photos
It's been a long old road for the Electric Light Orchestra, the Birmingham (England) genre-defying band that have blurred the lines between prog rock, glam rock, art rock and Brit Invasion-esque power-pop over the 54 years since their formation in 1970. For many years now, Jeff Lynne has been the sole bandleader and, in fact, sole permanent member. Since 2014, they've toured as Jeff Lynne's ELO.
On Saturday, they performed the second of two nights at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Los Angeles as part of their farewell Over and Out tour, and therefore the band's last ever gig in L.A. One last chance to praise Lynne in all of his brilliant glory, one last chance to hear ELO's countless ridiculously good tunes in this sort of environment, one last chance to just wallow in the magnificence of the Electric Light Orchestra.
Following an 11-song, super-fun set by local indie rockers Rooney, Lynne and his very large band took to the stage and, to utilize an overused cliche, rolled back the years.
If this was to be ELO's final Los Angeles show on their final tour, then they didn't waste a single second. One classic after another, no filler, as Lynne wowed L.A. with a set that saw the Brit icon essentially dig into the greatest hits. Little in the way of deep cuts, this was all about generous crowd pleasing.
That said, "One More Time" was the opener, pulled from 2019's From Our of Nowhere album. That record was credited to Jeff Lynne's ELO, and later they played a version of "Do Ya" by The Move (one of Lynne's other big bands). Besides that, it was Electric Light Orchestra all the way.
It feels like Lynne is ageless, even if he's not big on stage banter. To be fair, he never was. The man stood in front of his mic, guitar in hand, and flawlessly ran through tunes such as "Evil Woman," "Last Train to London," and "Believe Me Now," all in the first quarter of the show.
"Rockaria," with the gorgeous operatic section, is still stunning, and mildly underrated. Literal rock opera! "Sweet Talkin' Woman" and "Livin' Thing" are power-pop perfection, while "Telephone Line" and "Turn to Stone" have hooks that have only sharpened over the years.
The set ended with an enthusiastic "Don't Bring Me Down," and then they reappeared for "Mr. Blue Sky." Throughout it all, the light show was stunning. When it was done, the cheers for Lynne were deafening. If this is his L.A. farewell, he went out with a bang.
