Concert Review
Jeff Lynne’s ELO
Scotiabank Arena
Toronto, Ontario Canada
Saturday August 18, 2018
Review: Joseph Suto
Jeff Lynne brought his current concoction of ELO to Toronto last night. Simply dubbed Jeff Lynne’s ELO as he is the only member left from the days of past. The show was the first for Lynne in Toronto in close to forty years. A lengthy unexplained delay before the show made it seem even longer. Finally, at 9:40 the band took to the stage for a 90-minute extravaganza that left no one disappointed in anyway.
Kicking off the evening with Out of the Blue’s “Standin’ in the Rain” gave everyone a taste of what was to come. From there the first gem of the night “Evil Woman” got the train rolling which never ended until the last note of encore “Roll Over Beethoven”. The celebration of the band’s music and legacy continued with “All Over the World” a track culled from the Xanadu Soundtrack. Speaking of “Xanadu” Lynne decided tonight was the night to insert the song back into the set after only appearing in the opening night’s set.
So many songs to choose from and for the most part Lynne pulled out the right ones which had the crowd singing, clapping and dancing like “Livin’ Thing”, “Telephone Line” and a smokin’ riff heavy version of The Move’s “Do Ya” which was a contender for song of the night. The crowd was really into “Shine a Little Love” which seemed to be the best received song on the night.
“Here’s a song from my other band” Lynne stated as he introduced The Traveling Wilburys’ “Handle with Care”. Even with his masterpiece album Time not represented in anyway, Lynne was still able to play memorable tunes song after song. He could have easily played for another hour and still have songs left to play that people would have wanted to hear.
The sound was impeccable. Never have I heard a show sound that pristine in such a large venue as the former Air Canada Centre now called Scotiabank Arena. Lynne and his band literally brought the house down.
Lynne admitted he was having more fun now at this stage of his career as he ever could have imagined. He really loves playing with his current bandmates and that leaves the door open for the possibility of more shows perhaps down the road. For now, this evening felt like a once in a lifetime experience which many of the attendees will cherish for the rest of their lives.
The Set
Standin in the Rain
Evil Woman
All Over the World
Showdown
Do Ya
When I Was a Boy
Livin’ Thing
Handle With Care
Xanadu
Can’t Get it Out of My Head
10538 Overture
Shine a Little Love
Wild West Hero
Sweet Talkin’ Woman
Telephone Line
Don’t Bring Me Down
Turn to Stone
Mr. Blue Sky
Encore
Roll Over Beethoven
