Please tell us why we had to wait for him for so long (So long.).
I’m talking, of course about Jeff Lynne, only the mastermind behind the Electric Light Orchestra and The Traveling Wilburys. A man who’s produced Tom Petty, George Harrison, and The Beatles’ Anthology project. No biggie, right?
Sunday night was his first stop in Tampa in over 40 years, which understandably, was sold out. Joining him was his fellow Wilbury, George Harrison’s son Dhani to warm up some 12,000 who came in from all around the world. People were sporting older ELO shirts from more recent tours, and many of these folks probably caught the original ELO years ago, while they still could.
This version of the band is not the ELO from the 70s and 80s. Yes, Jeff Lynne is right up front, but the 12 backing him up – the string section, the keyboards, and even Yes featuring ARW bassist Lee Pomeroy, were not present on any of those original recordings. But that’s okay, because every song squeezed out in the hour and a half the band was on was perfected note for note.
At 8:00 on the dot, Dhani Harrison gave us a half-hour sneak peek at his more recent musical ventures, which have their own sound, far from his dad’s. They’re more progressive and synth sounding, and he even played a song coming out next week, Murders. This was Dhani’s first time in Tampa ever. “I want to thank Jeff Lynne for taking me out with him! You’ll have a great time!” he warned us.
He was right, too.
At 9:10, the Orchestra took the stage, and the UFO on their screen flew away, to reveal raindrops. Standin’ In The Rain, with that twinkly intro and everything. “It’s great to be back here, it’s been long ago for us since we were here.” Jeff humbly reminded us. The last time Jeff was here was before Xanadu was a thing. Can you imagine?
The hits were thrown in, of course. You know – Do Ya, Livin’ Thing, and even When I Was A Boy, a new-ish song off of Alone In The Universe, an album credited to Jeff Lynne’s ELO. All songs had the mandatory video backgrounds and light shows that was set the theme of lasers, UFOs, and areas of peace, such as mountains and rivers.
If you don’t know by now, Jeff is, unfortunately, one of two living members of The Traveling Wilburys. Bob Dylan still tours, but he only played one Wilbury tune a few times, about 30 years ago. Thankfully, Jeff doesn’t want the group to fade away, so at every show, he cracks out Handle With Care, but this tour, it would be a little extra special. Dhani Harrison came back out, to sing his dad’s original lead vocals, while light brown and black spirals spun behind them, later displaying videos of each member.
Understandably, the recently fallen Florida boy, Tom Petty, who some of the crowd saw in the same venue two years prior, got a little extra roar of respect when he popped up.
Jeff and company ripped through the rest of the set like it was nothing. Not much commentary, just wall-to-wall hits. Hearing Xanadu without Olivia Newton-John was pretty cool, and Telephone Line was when the green lasers turned on. They didn’t overwhelm the talent, either. They didn’t change colors or anything, so even while keeping an eye on them, you knew that there was pure, raw talent right in front of you.
Obviously, the show began to wind down with an asteroid-dodging excursion through Turn To Stone, and a crowd-rising Mr. Blue Sky, which was also not a thing the last time ELO was here. We were rewarded with a rowdy encore of Chuck Berry’s Roll Over Beethoven, which featured solos from basically everybody onstage, while a video of the original 45 was rolling right behind the band.
Jeff’s voice hasn’t gone away at all, and his band seems to be tighter than ever. He’s touring now more than he has in years, so hopefully, this won’t be the last time he hits Tampa. And if it isn’t, hopefully it won’t be another 40-some years.
But hey, if Jeff is willing to live for that amount of time, I’m all for that.
Josh Bradley Live 