10/29/2024

(Sacramento, WA) If he isn’t one of the most underrated, unknown musical genius in music history then I don’t know what anyone is using as a measuring stick. Jeff Lynne’s under the radar career is coming to an end. The 76-year-old singer, musician, song writer and producer is calling it a career and wrapping up his last ever tour in the U-S with 1 more show left to do in London.

It may be hard for some to buy my underrated description. But for decades all we knew about Jeff Lynne was that someone may have read his name off of one of the Electric Light Orchestra’s albums. ELO was well known but growing up in the 70’s none of my friends had any idea who was part of ELO, they were just ELO.

Lynne not your usual “Rockstar”

Jeff Lynne has never been that kind of “rock star”, you know strutting around, engaging with the fans, personally visiting each musician on stage. He has been a quiet “rock star”. He comes out on stage, takes his place behind the microphone and sings one giant hit after another.

Lynne is famously a shy, introverted person who admittedly said he’d rather work and create than be in the public eye and playing that traditional lead in a rock band. Lynne explained his process in a story by Andy Greene in  Rolling Stone Magazine back in 2016 after Lynne reformed ELO into Jeff Lynne’s Electric Light Orchestra and was set to begin tourning again. Lynne told Green, “I was reluctant to become a real rock star. I was shy and was always told to not get a big head. And my favorite thing in the world was to work 14 hours a day in the studio. Everything else was peripheral to me, like having the record out and promoting it. I did have a big house, but I didn’t do rock-star things. I never saw myself like that. I was a songwriter, singer and producer. Rock stars are different. They dress all flashy and hang out in nightclubs. That just wasn’t my priority. I liked to spend my spare moments at the pub.”

Greene’s story is terrific titled “ELO’s Jeff Lynne: My Life in 15 Songs” and is a must read for Lynne and ELO fans. To read the story click the Rolling Stone link above.

Jeff Lynne is the only orginal member of ELO left and he wanted to share his version of what he created one more time and began his now 30 show “Over and Out” tour . More on Lynne’s history later, let’s get to the 24th show!

Rooney delivers a powerful opening set

The band Rooney, named after the Principal character Ed Rooney from the movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, was formed in 1999 by a group of high school friends from Los Angeles. After some minor success with their song “When did your Heart Go Missing” their top hit getting to #14 in 2007 on the U-S pop charts.

Rooney epitomizes that early 2000’s sound and every song during the 45 minute set was up tempo and they got the crowd into the music right from the start. They began their 11 song set with “Blueside” and sang their big hit “When did your Heart Go Missing” as their 2nd to last song.

Rooney band leader and lead singer Robert Schwartzman then asked the crowd to stand for the their final song “I’m Shakin” and the crowd with great energy did just that. Schwartzman had some heartfelt words of appreciation for Jeff Lynne and ELO for allowing them to be their opener for the entire “Over and Out” tour and shared a few stories on what and how ELO inspired him to be a singer songwriter.

Rooney was the perfect choice for ELO, with their sound similar to ELO but also distinctly different than for what was to come. If I saw that Rooney was playing at a local casino or theater in the area I would definately want to go and see their full show.

Rooney’s line-up is the 2nd version of the band with only Schwartzman returning who is the lead singer and plays guitar, is joined by:

• Boaz Roberts – lead guitar
• Sean Sobash- bass
• Maxwell Flanders – drums
• Matthew Jordan – keys

Lynne and ELO blow away the capacity crowd in Sacramento

After the stage was re-shuffled and it took about 20 minutes to change from Rooney to the full ELO stage the 13 musicians that make up the latest version of ELO descended onto the stage with each in the same exact position as they were back in August at Portland. When the lights dimmed and you could see the musicians getting to their positions then it was waiting for Jeff Lynne to emerge and he did so pretty much with everyone else.

Lynne was not going to pop-up in the middle of the stage from nowhere or descend down from the rafters like Mary Poppins he walked in with the whole band and got his spot which he would rarely move from for the entire 90 minutes.

As they got set the lasers and lights began to flash and the low moan of the strings of 2 cellos and a violin began playing. This was followed with more lights and the huge video screen that will feature the iconic ELO spaceship was still dark. The intro kept building with brighter lights and lasers until about 30 seconds in when the music evened out into a more fluttery sound until the 1:07 mark of the opening song “One More Time”. Then the base drum stepped in and the tempo of strings and keyboards began to accelerate.

At the 1:17 mark the guitars began and all the stage lights went on with Jeff Lynne beginning to sing 1:22 in and we were off and running. Lynne’s opener “One More Time” was from his 14th ELO album and 2nd credited to Jeff Lynne’s ELO. It was the perfect song to open the show as this was literally, one more time.

Here’s a look at the opening of the Sacramento Show

It didn’t take long for Lynne and the Orchestra to get to one of their biggest and most beloved songs “Evil Woman”. The graphics with this song were great and frankly mesmerizing. The 3rd of 20 total songs was the classic “Do Ya”. Here’s a clip of “Do Ya“

The Who behind the Orchestra

Before going any further we must give the members of the 13 member their due as they are extremely skilled musicians and both times we attended the band was clearly having fun and just masterful in presenting the complex ELO music. This version of the band has only 1 remaining original member and that of course is Jeff Lynne himself. The others include Music Director, guitarist and backing vocals Mike Stevens, Milton McDonald also guitarist and backing vocal, Lee Pomeroy vocals and bass, Marcus Byrne keyboards, Donavan Hepburn drums, Jo Webb keyboards, guitar and backing vocals, Shannon Harris keyboards, violinist Jessie Murphy, celloists Amy Langley and Jess Cox.

Then the two main backing and at times lead vocalists Melanie Lewis-McDonald whose operatic opening to Rockaria! was simply spellbinding. Lewis-McDonald’s vocals were absolutely essential to several of the classic sound of Lynne’s vision and she was magnificent.

And now my bias is coming out and have to say my favorite band member is Iain Hornal. He really is key to much of the vocal parts to many of the songs. His energy is unabated and maybe it’s his expert playing of the fire extinguisher that has really caught my attention during Mr Blue Sky.

The big moment for both Lewis-McDonald and Hornal came about 1:45 into “Turn to Stone” when they join Lynne in the rapid fire lyrical duel. Both in Portland and Sacramento the crowd went wild when they finished and drew a huge smile from Lynne.

Here’s a short clip of Hornal playing the Fire Extinguisher during the encore

Lynne and his merry orchestra would delight the crowd with many of everyone’s favorites like “Strange Magic”, “Sweet Talkin Woman” to “Telephone Line”, “All Over the World” and the finale before the encore and rousing remdition of “Don’t Bring Me Down”.

Despite this being the final Over and Out tour and it is 100% believable since Lynne is 76 and as we talked about prior he was never a big fan of touring there was no saddness. There were no tears that I could see but rather the opposite. It was a massive celebration.

Jeff Lynne and the entire band made sure everyone in the arena that this was not a good-bye, not that Lynne is going to do a bunch of shows in Vegas or extend his tour, I truly believe this is it for him. But his music will live forever just as he intended it 50 years ago. It is meant to be personal and every fan has their reason why his songs or song is important to them.

It’s hard to imagine any of his songs bringing a person back to a sad time in their life and if it does it has to be far and few between. I would guess most ELO fans hear one of Lynne’s masterpieces and it immediately transports them back in time to a memory they love to go back and relive in their minds. It takes them to their happy places.

Lynne, as usual, never ran around the stage, engaging in the fans, not once did he ask the audience to sing for him or the band but clearly enjoyed when the audience joined in with him and the orchestra. Lynne is about positivity, fun and taking you to a place where all the noise is blocked out.

Lynne gave many thumbs up gestures to the crowd instead of talking. He was ready to get to the next song. Like eating potato chips, one after another after another.

The band certainly added to the fun, all smiling, and pointing at each other when a solo or during the vocoded parts of Mr Blue Sky or the the bull horn announcing “Last Train to London”. The band was upbeat, crazy skilled and having a blast and that level of energy was pretty much the same comparing the 4th show on August 30th to the 4th to last show in Sacramento, in fact the Sacramento show felt a little more electric and energized. Maybe it was due to knowing the end was coming soon. But the band was certainly not tired and gave a magnificent performance.

Now for a point of personal privilege here is the full song of my favorite Sweet Talkin’ Woman

The Over and Out Tour is nearly Out

As I finish this piece on Tuesday, October 29, 2024 the Over and Out tour was supposed to have been packed up and over here in the United States. But last week the show in Phoenix had to be cancelled because of illness in the band. The news release never said who or how many were sick but by the looks of the show on Wednesday in Sacramento I couldn’t tell you as they all looked great. 

But the Phoenix show got re-scheduled to, Tuesday the 29th so as they made their way out of LA instead of heading for the airport they headed east for the final show, in the United States. 

This is not the last time you can see ELO, a few weeks ago Lynne announced he will do a final concert in the famous Hyde Park in London on July 13th. Then just this week they have added 2 more shows in England including his hometown of Birmingham on July 5th. This will be the 1st show of the England finale with the 2nd date on July 9th in Manchester and then wrapping it all up at Hyde Park on the 13th.

So if you want to see him one more time you have a chance and time to plan a big trip to England. I am of the belief this will be the final shows he ever does live. Is it possible he gets coerced into making an appearance or two I think that may be possible but don’t think we’ll ever see the big ELO spaceship and the full orchestra together again.

The Encore Finale Mr Bluesky

The ELO Experience and the Jeff Lynne Legacy

Unlike many good-byes there was no saddness in this one. It was more feeling so grateful to have witnessed something so few have ever been able too. There was touring in the early years but by the early 80’s the chance to see them live in person or even on television was pretty limited compared to other longstanding bands such as the Rolling Stones, Areosmith, Paul McCartney and Wings and so many others that regularly toured and still do. 

I think the fans I personally got to witness Lynne’s masterpiece with over the past month and half have all felt special for being one of the very few to have gotten to do so. In Sacramento I met a couple from England because they knew this was his final tour and he had not announced any England dates for this next summer so they thought this was going to be their last chance. When they heard the Hyde Park announcement it did not make them mad because they spent a lot to come and see him one more time in the U-S but rather they were thrilled that they will get to see him one more time this coming Summer and now with 3 dates to choose it wouldn’t surprise me if they go to all 3 shows.

Lynne’s ultimate legacy is far too long to put in this story but if you are interested and curious just how deep Jeff Lynne is in the bloodstream of mainstream pop and rock music google him. Read the multiple Wikipedia pages, the hundreds of stories written about him from his early days with several bands chasing the Beatles in the late 60’s to creating ELO to working with one of his heroes in George Harrison then the Wilburys with Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison and himself.

Lynne’s producing credits include the UK or US Top 10 albums Cloud Nine (Harrison, 1987), Mystery Girl (Orbison, 1989), Full Moon Fever (Petty, 1989), Into the Great Wide Open (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 1991), Flaming Pie (Paul McCartney, 1997), and Get Up! (Bryan Adams, 2015).

He worked with Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr on various Beatles projects. He purposely created ELO to pick up where the Beatles left off and was often times criticized as being a Beatles rip-off. Lynne’s response was, “Thank-you” if we’re that close to sounding like the Beatles that is a magnificent compliment. John Lennon once called ELO “the sons of the Beatles.” Lynne couldn’t have been more appreciative.

This is just touching what he has accomplished from singing to writing to producing. His fingerprints are all over some of the most beloved music over the past 5 decades.

His legacy is not likely all that important to Lynne other than he was a guy who made good music and people enjoyed it. The lasting impression I will have from witnessing this genius in person now 3 times is the show in Sacramento when after they finished Mr Blue Sky, the encore, and the capacity crowd exploded. The noise was thunderous and it truly seemed to catch him by surprise and a huge smile and a double thumbs up.

The fact that he is still surprised at how much fans love him and his music is the perfect end to an incredible career that I’d put up against anyone’s in music history when it comes to all phases of the business. I could literally see ELO another 1000 times and never tire but I am so happy and so grateful to have been able to witness his magic live. It’s not often we get a chance to see someone so impressive and important but like they say these days…IYKYK. (If you know, you know)…I know.

Telephone Line in Sacramento

Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center set-list, Oct. 23, 2024

The set list from what I can tell never changed throughout this tour other than repositioning a few songs. I saw the 4th show on August 30 in Portland and that night they had 2 encore songs, “Don’t Bring Me Down” and “Mr Blue Sky”. At some point in the tour they decided to end the show with “Don’t Bring Me down” and the lone encore song was “Mr Blue Sky”.

“One More Time”
“Evil Woman”
“Do Ya”
“Showdown”
“Last Train to London”
“Believe Me Now”
“Steppin’ Out”
“Rockaria!”
“10538 Overture”
“Strange Magic”
“Sweet Talkin’ Woman”
“Can’t Get It Out of My Head”
“Fire on High”
“Livin’ Thing”
“Telephone Line”
“All Over the World”
“Turn to Stone”
“Shine a Little Love”
“Don’t Bring Me Down”
*Encore
“Mr. Blue Sky”

The finale of Mr Bluesky and Final Bow in Sacramento

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