Jeff Lynne’s ELO – O2 Greenwich 18/10/2018

Jeff Lynne’s ELO thrilled a packed house with a selection of their songs spanning Jeff’s 40+ years in the music business.

At 4:30 p.m. I was looking forward to a quiet evening in. Then came the call from my wife that she had been given two free tickets for the show. I am familiar with ELO’s hit singles from the 70’s and 80’s but I have never been a big enough fan to see them live or buy any of their records. So I travelled to the O² with limited expectations.

There was much to admire in the musicianship throughout the evening. With at times four guitars, three keyboards, drums, bass, two cellos and a violin to blend the musical director did well, though for me the mix worked far better on some songs rather than others. They played all the hits that I could remember and a few more. The stand out for me was their closer which was ‘Mr Blue Sky’, opening with the strings leading to a spectacular arrangement. It would have been good if the show had finished there because they encored with ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ which, when you’ve been listening to live music for close to fifty years, you’ve heard countless versions and although it was not bad, it did nothing to stand out from the rest.

I have no regrets that I attended, although I remembered why I have cut down my visits to O².  That is because I find the constant traffic of audience members crossing my eyeline as they go for either drinks or visits to the washrooms. In the smaller venues the audience has lots of respect for the performers and fellow members and they stay put, this is certainly not the case here.

I very much doubt if I would want to see ELO perform again, once is enough for me.