Aieee I got to see E.L.O!!! Ok so maybe technically they are called The Orchestra, and there was no Jeff Lynne there were three members from the original band, aswell as two (or perhaps three, I'm not sure if the drummer has only been part of The Orchestra) from E.L.O II, so they all knew what they were doing!
Anyway, I am a HUGE ELO fan and have been excited about this since I bought the tickets. The ticket buying itself was a bit of a fluke as I had no idea that ELO part 2 ever existed never mind The Orchestra now, so thank you Portsmouth Guildhall for randomly sending me the advert! So being soo excited, and knowing that there was no Jeff Lynne, I was a bit concerned that they wouldn't be very good, but I needn't have worried they put on a fantastic show!
They were on for a total of 2 hours and 15 minutes, though did have a half hour break after the first hour, and crammed so much into this time, I really don't know where to start! They opened with Twilight which worked really well, after that most of the order (and perhaps what some of the songs are) I couldn't tell you! But I can tell you that they sang Horace Wimp much to the horror of the person sat next to me who wondered what on earth was wrong with me as the intro was being played. They also sang Hold On Tight which has always been one of my favourites (I'm a sucker for a good message!) and it sounded brilliant - there were goosebumps! In addition to throwing in favourites such as All Over the World, Telephone Line, Rockaria, Ma Ma Belle, Wild West Hero, and Do Ya, they threw in a couple instrumentals which were amazing. In particular, Mik Kaminski is flipping fantastic! They also threw in a couple of songs theyve recorded as The Orchestra which I didn't know, but sounded good, aswell as a few things from each of their solo projects.
They did an amazing version of Twist & Shout, which they have recorded before, but I hadn't heard it, and a fab cover of Getting Better, which thanks to YouTube I am completely addicted to! Definitely look them both up if you can!
Other highlights, have to include Mr Blue Sky! Which was the point at the concert that EVERYONE stood up and stayed standing for the remainder of the show. It's always cool to watch everyone getting involved, and the crowd were so animated, especially when the song led into Turn To Stone. They then went off, and came back on to do Don't Bring Me Down as an encore. Everyone sang along, and the band let the audience sing the chorus (several times!) and the atmosphere was just great! At the end Kelly Groucett said 'That was Bostin, that was!' - probably something only said in Brum!
All in all, it was a completely terrific show, and I am SO glad I was able to get such good seats (Row G, woohoo!). Although undoubtedly they would have sounded much better in their prime (and I so wish I was born earlier so I could have seen them!) they sounded really great. Their voices weren't quite perfect, but instrumentally they were flawless - and because of that it doesn't matter that they use different keys so they can make notes, or cut out particularly high bits - though speaking of high, Kelly singing the intro to Rockaria was brilliant (if in fact it was him doing it and I haven't been taken in by some audio trick!).
Other songs I recall are.. Midnight Blue, Standing in the Rain (which since hearing it live is becoming a new favourite!), Confusion, Evil Woman, Last Train to London..
Fantastically brilliant night, and I still can't believe my luck that I managed to realise their existence, and attend a show!
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