“Jeff Lynne’s ELO ends final US tour with hit-packed LA shows”

When Jeff Lynne wrote “Can't Get It Out of My Head,” he probably didn't intend to make a metaprophetic proclamation. But a few days shy of the 50th anniversary of this song's release as a single, it stands as a stalwart earworm, along with at least two or three dozen more equally indelible ones – a good portion of which make up the setlist for Jeff Lynne's ELO farewell tour . In the 1970s, Lynne was the King of Pop, or at least the king of hooks that popped into your head and never came out. And now he's offering fans of the Electric Light Orchestra (as the act was originally called) a chance to say goodbye to that playlist and make a living.

The Kia Forum shows in the LA area on Friday and Saturday nights were intended to mark the conclusion of the American leg of the Over and Out Tour before Lynne plays his truly final UK concerts in Hyde Park next summer. The end result domestically didn't go quite as planned: a recent sick day and the postponement of the affected Phoenix date means Lynne's US tour now ends in Arizona on Tuesday. For this reason, there was perhaps a little less emotion associated with Saturday's performance than expected. Not that any ELO show in history has ever been destined to be a tear-jerking affair, given the music's emphasis on sugar rushes rather than feelings, and given the unlikelihood that Lynne – never one verbose or expressive stage performer – giving Elton-style farewell speeches. The performance was a huge jolt of joy from the beginning to the almost 90-minute end, to the point where you had to work a little hard to feel sad about it. (Some of us are willing to put in this work.)

One reason we don't take Lynne's live retirement more seriously than necessary is that touring was actually a new development for him; we weren't used to his face yet. Actually, the Electric Light Orchestra played more like a normal band Was a band in the '70s before Lynne became an official full-time studio rat. ELO performed at the pre-Kia and then Fabulous Forum in 1977 and 1981, and that was about it for shows in LA (or elsewhere) for the next 35 years. Leading up to it, there was a TV taping of an aborted tour in 2001, a Fonda performance in 2015, a Hollywood Bowl Orchestra event in 2016, and finally… a return to real, full-scale touring in 2018, including a stop at the Forum. The reasons why Lynne allowed his recessive traits to emerge for nearly four decades are probably varied: waning interest in his own spectacular series of hits, a real urge to get a tan in the studio, stage shyness and – above all – the manner and way he presented it – the inability to make all those elaborate pop confections and mini-symphonies sound right without resorting to excessive, unnatural enhancement.

Those with long memories may remember that ELO's tours in the '70s caused some controversy when it appeared that some of the parts were on Memorex…something people stopped using about a quarter of a century ago Eyelashes twitched. Whatever the truth, there was a deep, delicious irony in the fact that Saturday night's Forum show might have been that liveThis is the best thing to ever hit this stage in 2024. He attributed this to the manpower, enthusing at the start of the previous tour: “We can actually cover any song I've ever done with that many people, with three keyboards, two cellos, violin, four guitars, bass, drums, percussion “, background vocals – everything is covered.” To be honest, he probably had the budget to hire so many executives a few decades earlier than he did. But ELO fans haven't felt the need to look this gift horse in the mouth, no matter how late he comes.

It shouldn't be as pleasantly surprising as it is to hear such rich music that features real musicians doing their thing throughout. Drummer Donavan Hepburn did most of the work to ensure the audience knew it was real music. He emphasized thunderous tom-toms almost as much as original drummer Bev Bevan did at the time, even on the later songs when Bevan toned some things down. Backup singer Melanie Lewis-McDonald earns some VIP status for her ability to replicate the original singers' slightly strident sound on “Evil Woman” and taking the lead on the sassy rock-classical crossover tune “Rockaria!” ” A string trio (Amy Langley, Jess Cox and Jessie Murphy) is able to bridge the gap between ELO's earliest art-rock days, when Lynne taught her “I Am the Walrus” cello feel for “10538 Overture,” to to the group's later disco-violin era.

Lynne himself was obviously not only “Steppin' Out” (to name a song that was unexpectedly added back into the set), but he stepped up to the mic and generally hit the mark. For a few isolated verses or for a few compromise lines, the lead role was given to a male backing singer, but not often. His sweetest vocals of the night came in “Strange Magic,” a song he (strangely) hadn’t sung on the previous tour and which it would have felt wrong to leave out. While ELO isn't necessarily one for overt expressions of deep emotion, there was a tenderness in his approach to the subject that felt touching. The same goes for the even more wistful “Can't Get It Out of My Head”, the evening's other great balladic highlight – a song as beautiful as it was in the 1970s and just as heartbreaking today.

One notable change since ELO's last tour before the pandemic is that Lynne no longer plays electric guitar, and although he plays an acoustic guitar throughout the evening, none of it can be heard in the mix. It's not surprising that at 76, he may no longer be able to get the rockabilly licks out of, say, a “Roll Over Beethoven,” which is no longer included in the set. There are three other guitarists filling that role for him anyway – a veritable six-string orchestra – and no one will blame him for concentrating on his singing at this point in his career. (He's definitely not focused on stimulating the action on stage, although he seemed to be in really good spirits as he frequently gave the audience the thumbs up.)

There's a humor somewhere in how ageless Lynne is, looking and sounding from a distance mostly the same as she did 40 years ago, compared to the deteriorating portrait of Dorian Gray that some of us in the audience see. It didn't hurt that he somehow had the foresight to future-proof himself despite the confusing beard, mop top and sunglasses; Just look a little older before your time can be of use later. Since Lynne is the ultimate master of vocal stacking, with this large crew it would be easy to build a show that would work around any shortcomings of a 76-year-old singer, but the choir support he received felt organic, and the amount of When we included his voice alone in the mix, it felt rewarding for a fan who has always felt the tone of his voice was as underrated as it was difficult to define.

His place in history? Listening to most of ELO's top 10 singles, it was hard not to feel like it was Lynne The Pop masters of the 1970s. Even if you are a McCartney nut, there is at least an argument that during this period the student was equal to and even surpassed the master. The Bee Gees, another obvious influence on what Lynne did, also need to be considered part of the equation, so here in 2024 it might be too early to jump to conclusions. But hearing so much pop greatness compressed into such a fleeting set certainly felt like proof that no one has done it better when it comes to melodic and arranging genius.

And the fact that records really was The thing is, for ELO – and live performances have been just a wonderful icing on the cake lately – the only reason not to complain is that the touring portion of Lynne's legacy is “a terrible thing to lose.” Still, after the exhilaration of these Forum shows, and knowing there are several more on the schedule next July, it will be hard for LA fans not to think about booking one last flight to London.

Jeff Lynne's ELO setlist at Kia Forum, Inglewood, California, October 26, 2024:

One more time
Bad woman
Yes
Showdown
Last train to London
Believe me now
Exit
Rockaria!
10538 Overture
Strange magic
Sweet talking woman
I can't get it out of my head
Fire on High (excerpt)
Living thing
Telephone line
Anywhere in the world
Contact Stone
Shine a little love
Don't bring me down
(Encore) Mr. Blue Sky