It was time to say goodbye to an all-time great.
But it wasn’t going to be easy, not after all that this man’s music has meant to us over the years.
So it was understandable that a hint of sadness hung in the air as some 11,000 fans gathered Sunday night (September 1) at San Francisco’s Chase Center to witness Jeff Lynne’s final ELO tour.
It was, from start to finish, a glorious performance as the 13-piece ensemble unleashed one incredible classic piece after another from what is one of the greatest catalogues in rock ‘n’ roll history – that belonging to the Electric Light Orchestra.
And I’m not sure the triumphant nature of the performance made it any harder or easier for fans, given that Lynne and company didn’t at all look like a troupe whose time has come to call it quits.
It did, however, make for a hugely enjoyable evening, especially when the stellar musicianship and songs were accompanied by a spectacular assortment of video, lighting and special effects elements – as well as a laser light show that would make even the most ardent Pink Floyd fan’s jaw drop.
Truly, Jeff Lynne’s ELO Over and Out Tour is nothing short of the most visually stunning rock spectacle of 2024. And almost every classic rock fan, whether a big ELO fan or not, should try to catch this production before the band wraps up their North American run with two shows at the Kia Forum in Southern California in late October.
After an opening set by Los Angeles rock band Rooney – fronted by Robert Schwartzman (Jason’s brother) – Lynne and her crew kicked off their roughly 90-minute headlining set appropriately with “One More Time.”
And the message was loud and clear.
“Come on, baby, it’s time to rock ’n’ roll,” sang Lynne, 76. “Get in there, and we’ll be gone soon. Everybody’ll feel real good.”
“We’re going to do it one more time.”
They were sure to make this final show in San Francisco a success, quickly heading into greatest-hits territory—where they would stay virtually all night—as they filled out the first half of the 19-song set with winners like “Evil Woman,” “Do Ya” and “Sweet Talkin’ Woman.”
The setlist draws heavily on this series of breathtaking tracks, from 1974’s “Eldorado” (ELO’s fourth album) to 1979’s “Discovery” (ELO’s eighth).
They did, however, each include one song from their 1971 self-titled debut album (known in the US as “No Answer” due to a breakdown in communication between the band and the record company) and their third album, 1973’s “On the Third Day” – “10538 Overture” and “Showdown” respectively. There was also a song (“All Over the World”) from the excellent 1980s “Xanadu” soundtrack.
There was nothing of 1973’s “ELO,” which is a shame since their version of Chuck Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven” is one of the truly essential covers in pop music history and would have really rocked the house at Chase.
They’ve pretty much ignored their new material, save for the opening statement of “One More Time” from 2019’s From Out of Nowhere. “That was probably a wise decision, given the band’s plethora of good old stuff, though I personally would have loved to hear “When I Was a Boy” from 2015’s “Alone in the Universe.”
The setlist gave Lynne’s band – guitarist/musical director Mike Stevens, bassist Lee Pomeroy, drummer Donavan Hepburn, pianist Marcus Byrne, lead guitarist Milton McDonald, keyboardists Jo Webb and Shannon Harris, backing vocalists Melanie Lewis-McDonald and Iain Hornal, and a string section of Amy Langley, Jessie Murrphy and Jess Cox – plenty of time to flex their muscles in a variety of ways. While all of ELO’s material is generally categorized under the classic rock banner, the band played a wide range of pop styles over the course of the night – from towering prog-rock instrumentals (“Fire on High”) and Beatles-esque pop (“Mr. Blue Sky”) to soaring disco (“Last Train To London”), classical/rock hybrids (“Rockaria!”) and more.
Given the breadth of musical diversity and ambition on display, it’s a little ironic to note that perhaps the most memorable moment of the show was when Lynne turned off all the bells and whistles – both sonic and visual – and dove into the astonishingly pure pop ballad ‘Can’t Get It Out Of My Head’. It was simply a master and his most magnificent melody, touching hearts as they had when we first heard the song on ‘Eldorado’ in 1974, and the audience response was nothing short of elated.
The production elements greatly enhanced the experience, eliciting many cheers of approval from the audience. The centerpiece of the production was a large oval video screen, designed to resemble the iconic ELO spaceship, which was flanked on either side by other large screens.
The graphics always matched the music, offering a giant spinning disco ball (“Shine a Little Love”), a Tolkien-esque fairyland (“Strange Magic”), a butterfly zipping through a rainforest (“Livin’ Thing”), and more. Of course, there was no shortage of interstellar (and just plain stellar) sci-fi moments using ELO’s trademark spaceship imagery.
Lynne was truly on form as he hit the final stretch, rocking and rolling through “All Over The World,” “Turn to Stone” and the powerful main set closing track “Don’t Bring Me Down” before returning to cap it all off with a double-shot encore of “Telephone Line” and “Mr. Blue Sky.”
It was an amazing way to say goodbye to his Bay Area fans. Well done, Mr. Lynne.
Still, for those of us struggling with that goodbye—a number that certainly includes this reviewer—it’s nice to know that Jeff Lynne’s ELO has another concert scheduled in NorCal at the Golden 1 Center on October 23.
See you in Sacramento!
List of songs:
1. “Once again”
2. “Evil Woman”
3. “Do it”
4. “Soft-spoken woman”
5. “Strange Magic”
6. “Opening 10538”
7. “Confrontation”
8. “I can’t forget him”
9. “Rock garden!”
10. “Steppin’ Out”
11. “The fire is here”
12. “Living thing”
13. “The Last Train to London”
14. “All over the world”
15. “Turn into stone”
16. “Shine a little love”
17. “Don’t let me fall”
Bis:
18. “Telephone line”
19. “Mr. Blue Sky”
Originally published:
