Electric Light Orchestra

I saw the Electric Light Orchestra a couple days ago. Or ELO as known by those of us intimate with them. Keeping with my life-long policy that the key to happiness is lowered expectations, I ended up being really liking it much more than I thought I would. I knew I would, but they were one of the best concerts I've ever seen.

Just to compare, I think the last concert I saw was Fleetwood Mac. They were from about the same time period and equally popular, Fleetwood Mac probably a bit more so. The concerts were no comparison, though. Fleetwood Mac gets at best a C, ELO an A.

So I was sitting well back. I had binoculars. I actually used the binoculars at times to look at the big screen on the stage. Seriously. That's how far back we were.  But that was a good position for the laser show. Oh yeah, a major laser light show during three of their songs. They really had the best visuals of any concert I've ever been to.

Electric Light Orchestra combines the ideas of electric light and light orchestral music. Kind of like if Olivia Newton John and John Lennon was combined to get Olivia Newton John Lennon. Okay, not a good example, but you get the idea. Its a combination of rock and classical music. Its mostly a rock band, but this one had two cellos, a violin and an opera singer in it. So not your typical rock band.

One of their songs, a fave, is actually about a rock singer and an opera singer falling in love, "Rockaria" - She's sweet on Wagner, I heard she'd die for Beethoven, she loves the way Puccini lays down a tune, and Verdi always creeping from her room, then the opera singer does part of an aria, then the electric guitars come in. There really isn't a band quite like it in the universe.

They had an opening act. Usually I'm not a fan of that, but I didn't realize who it was. It was George Harrison's son, Dhani. He did a handful of songs. He looks, has a style, and even the sound of his voice is a lot like his Dad. It was pretty amazing. The look is genetics, the style can be learned, but I wouldn't think the sound of your voice would be hereditary. Pretty cool. Jeff Lynne, the lead singer of ELO did an album with George, and Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty years ago. He had Dhani come back on stage and do their hit song with him. It sounded just like Jeff and George.

I'm counting him as at least half a Beatle. So I'm now up to having seen 2.5 Beatles in my life - Paul, Ringo, and Dhani. If I can somehow see Julian or Sean Lennon, I'll have a complete set.

So, it you get a chance to see ELO, even if your half a mile back, like I was, do it.