GIG NUMBER ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FIVE
Who
Planning the day was nice and easy as the start time and running length of the show was clearly advertised on the website, and I'd been to just enough seated shows to know that the start time advertised is the time that the band actually take to the stage. I was worried about if my friend would turn up and I had a back-up plan in place, and there was some worry on the day as I got involved in a debate over ensuring we didn't have to walk too far, but it all worked out nicely in the end despite my doubts. Beforehand I'd been busily watching Game Of Thrones to get it out of the way so that I could focus my efforts on holiday planning for an amazing trip to North Korea and China. My plans had been thwarted as my internet had rudely decided to break on the bank holiday weekend I'd carefully set aside to finally do all my planning on, but here I am writing this one week after the show and feeling a lot happier, knowing I'm getting on top of gig reviews, sorting my photos and am well on the way to planning my holiday properly too. Luck really was on my side for once as the train after mine had been randomly cancelled, but we got into Birmingham in reasonable time, finding a nice restaurant called Browns near the Bullring. It was a bit pricey and being seated right next to the door wasn't ideal but I enjoyed a fabulous steak and also a bottle of Innis & Gunn's beer. The staff who were so attentive at first ceased to show any interest in us the moment that they'd served our mains, and I thought I had time for ice cream but watched as precious minutes slipped away without any service, ultimately we made it to the venue with no time to spare, stopping for just a second to observe the giant paintbrush that had been installed above the Bullring.
We walked there around New Street - which was undergoing a hefty overhaul - and although I was a bit unsure about the directions we arrived at the correct spot and I managed to pick up our tickets from the box office without an issue. As usual it wasn't particularly clear from the confirmation email whether tickets were to be posted or emailed, but things were running delightfully smoothly. After an unexpected queue for the loo we took our seats, which were very far to the left but on the third row. We were just in time and the band helped us out by being a few minutes late too. There was no support and ELO Experience was written on the drum kit to confirm that we were definitely in the right room! Despite purchasing tickets months in advance it had been a struggle to get decent seats, and the show was presumably a sell-out or thereabouts. There were of course plenty of older people but also some younger fans, and certainly we didn't feel as out of place as I've sometimes felt at "oldies shows". This was the furthest I'd sat forwards at the Alexandra Theatre since front row seats for The Flaming Lips back in 2003, and I was blown away by just how tall the stage was! The lights came down and the show started as it should do with a UFO, which rose after projecting its lights, and was to hover over the band for the set. They opened with All Over The World, which was an obvious and crowd-pleasing choice. And you know what? They were fantastic! Despite being so far to the left and in front of a speaker the sound was great and my ears didn't even whistle afterwards. They looked the part, harmonised well and recreated the ELO sound pretty much perfectly.
In fact I'm not sure I could even tell the difference. They were certainly a cut above other tribute groups as they'd invested a lot of effort into making this a good production, even including a three-piece orchestra in addition to having the required UFO. Also the setlist was just fantastic. Obviously a tribute band can't get away with the self-indulgence of real artists who refuse to play hits, but they really had it nailed. I understood that it was just one of those things that all of my favourite songs were played right at the start, as more obvious crowd-pleasers did appear later. Second track was Evil Woman, which I just adore, and this was soon followed by Telephone Line, which is my other fave! When things were taken down a notch, such as for The Diary Of Horace Wimp, they not only maintained the momentum but made things even better, as it was accompanied on the video screen by a fabulous lego video that can be seen on YouTube. The song is very story-based so made far more sense in this way and it was the first time I truly "got it". Xanadu was preceded by an explanation that Jeff had written the song for Olivia Newton-John and it had in fact hit number 1, but that they were going to perform Jeff's version tonight. I felt quite smart for knowing it, but now I notice it's on their main greatest hits album I don't quite see why Jeff's version was presented as a rarity? Someone predictably heckled a comment about them playing a song from Grease, and "Jeff" won us over in his banter, saying that he wasn't going to don a blonde wig and pretend to be Olivia Newton-John because he didn't believe in wearing wigs. So what he was wearing on his head wasn't a Jeff Lynne wig then? Hmmm, very funny!
He also spoke of going back in time to a simpler age, before clarifying that he was referring to October 2012! Not quite as far back as he was leading us to believe! The point was that Jeff had released two albums then - a covers album and also one where he reworked his biggest hits. It was a pretty random comment though because they didn't follow it with a song specific to that. Any excuse for good banter it appeared! Showdown was notable mostly for having the title word projected onto the screen, but the delivery of my top three ELO songs was then completed with a rendition of Wild West Hero. The harmonising was just fabulous, but I was a little distracted trying to think what track 3 on their greatest hits album was. I was convinced that Don't Bring Me Down was track 4 and therefore that I'd forgotten about some massive hit, but I got back home to find that Don't Bring Me Down was track 3 after all. So weird! Strange Magic was just magical with a spotlight on the guitarist for the introduction, and Shine A Little Love featured some really good "woohs" and clapping. The excellent first half drew to a close with Livin' Thing, which I'd forgotten all about somehow. We ventured out thirsty for something and I got a mediocre pear cider after discovering that the main bar had no more to offer than the one by the stall exits. It took a little while to get served despite the surprising lack of a queue, and it's slightly annoying as I sacrificed being sociable and talking for the sake of trying to get served faster by keeping my attention on the bar staff!
"Jeff" had made a brilliant joke just before the interval that glow sticks were on sale to provide a bit of audience participation in part two of the set, and for just £10 each, before kindly knocking the price down to £1 since it was a hometown crowd! The second half opened with Standin' In The Rain, which must have one of the finest intros ever committed to tape, and although they were delving a bit deeper into the back catalogue either they didn't go too deep or ELO were never much of an in-depth album band, as I knew every single song in the setlist. Turn To Stone featured a great bit for the fast speaking part where the lights went down and Last Train To London was accompanied unsurprisingly with footage of trains. Rock 'N' Roll Is King was a highlight as some couples even got up to dance enthusiastically in a Back To The Future 1950s manner, before the bloody ushers hysterically tried to stop them having fun. Hold On Tight was my friends favourite song and was accompanied with an inspirational Olympics video and French lyrics on screen, and when the band broke out their famous cover of Roll Over Beethoven people got up again to dance, this time heading to the side of the venue so that the Nazi ushers would have no cause to harass them. It featured a really fabulous Beethoven/classical intro and outro, and despite being a bit over the top it certainly is a memorable rendition of a famous hit.
"Jeff" then delivered an anecdote about the one and only time he'd met the real Jeff, at his induction into the Hall Of Fame at the new Birmingham Library. Apparently the tribute band had been invited for some weird reason, and after stalking/following Jeff for a while he agreed to a quick photo. Amazingly he never had time to explain who he was and what he did - and I'm saddened that such a proficient tribute band aren't on the radar of the real act - but apparently they've since managed to use that pic to drum up interest, even talk of an American tour. The band was introduced, and the guitarist in front of us in fact was Danish, but that explains his fresh appearance. The keyboardist had filled in the vocoder moments so brilliantly that I'd just presumed at first that they were pre-recorded, and we were advised that the violinist was a newbie. I hope that she has more luck than the cello player in the real band who was - unbelievably - killed by a falling hay bale in 2010. Also the other guitarist was introduced to imply that he was from California, but in fact it was just his jeans that were from there and he was somewhat more local. The singer had wore sunglasses throughout the show in addition to his fabulously permed wig, and perhaps the fact that I don't have the image in my head of how ELO "should" look made it easier to accept them as the real thing. It's quite different with, say, tributes to The Beatles or The Stone Roses, as the individual members are so distinctive and it's impossible to forget that you're not watching the genuine article. As the other guys in ELO aren't famous it was easy to accept these as the band.
There were two obvious songs left and The ELO Experience weren't about to bring us down. I've always adored Don't Bring Me Down, and the opportunity to sing "Bruce!" knowingly is just too good to miss. Someone heckled for Mr Blue Sky and "Jeff" made a nonplussed comment to say that they were going to play it, but now someone's shouted for it that they probably won't bother anymore. Just teasing though. After the bare minimum of time offstage they returned and prompted us all to finally rise to our feet for the aforementioned tune. I've always felt it's a bit overrated and that ELO have several other songs that are just as strong or even better, but I was happy to enjoy it. I finally got my camera out and took a few photos, and I do wonder if "Jeff" was wagging his finger specifically at me. I'm really not sure if there was an arbitrary no photography policy, but as we were on our feet and as it was the last song I really couldn't care for any petty rules. Fate took its revenge on me though as I somehow dropped my camera, eventually finding it unharmed at the feet of the person in front. They left the stage to great applause, and barring perhaps Four Little Diamonds and Latitude 88 North had played everything I could have hoped to hear. I waited to get the train back while my friend got a taxi, and I had a cheeky Lindt chocolate bar and Brother's toffee apple cider while I was waiting for the trains, scribbling a few notes that formed the basis of this review. A mark of 7.5/10 may seem a bit harsh, but I have to respect the general pecking order. For a mere tribute band to ELO these guys really couldn't have done any better. Strange magic indeed.
Mark: 7.5/10
The ELO Experience
Where
Birmingham Alexandra Theatre
When
30th August 2014
Price
£23.90
Who with
Nadine
Position
Seated, to the left
Comments
I really hadn't been to many gigs in 2014 at all! I'd been a fan of ELO for ages, originally hearing Telephone Line on the Under The Influence compilation by SFA released in 2005. I was sufficiently impressed to buy their All Over The World best of album and got into many more of their songs, although I have always found them a band who are quite hard to listen to in too much depth. Still, for the occasional listen they do the job. At some point I must have been enthused enough with them that I purchased their second greatest hits compilation - Ticket To The Moon - and I also got my hands on the Out Of The Blue album to copy onto my PC. Still, I never thought I'd see them live and I'm pretty sure that this is the closest I'll ever get. Although Jeff Lynne surprisingly was due to play a big set in Hyde Park a few weeks after this, so he is certainly still capable of performing! This show came about as I promised someone nine months ago that I'd take them to see ELO in some shape or form, and in fact I'd had seen the same tribute act in Cannock if they'd had been swifter in reading their Facebook messages! I then kept a close eye on the band website - noting that The ELO Experience are regarded as the best tribute around - and settled on this Birmingham date instead. An alternate show at the Wulfrun I couldn't attend as it clashed with work commitments, but this all worked out for the best as Birmingham is the home of ELO and The Alexandra Theatre is a pretty decent venue! Somehow I failed to register until the very day of the show that this was a hometown gig, but it made it more special as a result.
Setlist
All Over The World
Evil Woman
Telephone Line
The Diary Of Horace Wimp
Xanadu
Showdown
Wild West Hero
Strange Magic
Big Wheels
Shine A Little Love
Confusion
Sweet Talkin' Woman
Livin' Thing
Standin' In The Rain
Do Ya
Twilight
Turn To Stone
Last Train To London
Rock 'N' Roll Is King
Rockaria
Hold On Tight
Roll Over Beethoven
Don't Bring Me Down
Mr. Blue Sky
n.b. This setlist was from another gig, but it's either correct or similar
