By Rosie Sparrow
ELO were a great band back in the 70’s but seem to be overlooked now in the list of legendary bands these days when compared with Queen and Thin Lizzy. That doesn’t stop the ELO Experience from reaping in the rewards from their hits. The theatre quickly fills, barely leaving a seat empty which shows that they do have a huge following. The theatre is humming with anticipation. All the instruments are lined up on stage, eager to be played. Soon enough the lights are dimmed and the band take to the stage – all seven of them!
The lights quickly go up into a small light show to reveal the band and their introduction of “All Over The World”. However what caught my attention straight away wasn’t the song and how good it was but their outfits. They were certainly dressed for the occasion, the singer wore a bright white suit complete with curly wig and sunglasses. He was accompanied by the bass player sporting a green velvet suit and the guitarist in a purple velvet trouser and waist coat with a look that makes you think he’s supposed to be in a Moody Blues tribute instead.
When I was able to tear my eyes away from them I was able to get into the concert. They started with a few fast numbers but it quickly changed when they performed “Telephone Line”, the lights were darkened and the spot light was on the singer. However it clearly pleased the audience. They continued to please the die-hard fans with a rendition of “Latitude 88 North” this was also a slow number with a lot of emotion put into it by the singer not just with his voice but his stage presence too. The whole of the first set was at a slow pace filled with ballads which was hard for me to get into but I still loved the bass lines and the rare guitar solo that was played.
The second half came with a costume change, the white suit was changed to an appropriate sky blue suit. They opened it with “Standing In The Rain” which kept people guessing as to what this half of the experience had in store for us. The whole of the second set was completely different compared to the first, it was a lot more lively with their upbeat hit songs.
Personal favourites of mine were “Sweet Talking Woman” with the cellos capturing the attention and the crowd singing along to the chorus and “Last Train To London” which was a crowd-pleaser when they altered the lyrics to Grays/Thurrock. However the best was certainly saved until last with “Roll Over Beethoven” and “Don’t Bring Me Down” as the last two songs of the set. Both songs got the crowd singing and dancing with a great feel-good atmosphere. It was a shame that it happened mainly towards the end of the show. Of course, due to popular demand, they returned to the stage with the classic “Mr. Blue Sky.” It was a fantastic way to end the show, especially the spectacular second half.
Overall I was impressed with the band, I’ve never been a huge fan of ELO as a lot of their songs are slower to what I’m used to. However they kept with the perfect harmonies and I loved the touch of having two cello players with them rather than relying on a backing track. Despite being slow to start with they certainly kept us entertained with their antics and outfits. It all worked wonderfully in the end… That’s what I call strange magic.
