After 37 years away, Jeff Lynne’s ELO leads Chicagoland to the holy grail of symphonic rock

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There are surely some classic bands who rarely tour, but then there’s Jeff Lynne’s ELO, who may very well hold the record for the longest gap in between full-fledged visits to America. To put in perspective of just how long it’s been since Electric Light Orchestra played at Chicago Stadium in support of 1981’s “Time,” the intermediary years have found hell freezing over multiple times for the Eagles, at least a couple continuations of the classic Fleetwood Mac line-up, Phil Collins coming out of retirement twice (with Genesis and individually), charity convincing Led Zeppelin to give it another go, Steve Perry standing on stage with Journey then re-launching his dormant solo career and even all of ABBA recording together again!

Jeff Lynne’s ELO saved the best for the last unstoppable stretch, jetting through “Sweet Talkin’ Woman,” “Telephone Line,” “Don’t Bring Me Down,” “Turn To Stone,” “Mr. Blue Sky” and its signature rendering of Chuck Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven,” all of which seemed so unlikely the Windy City would ever hear again…

In the 37 years between then and selling out the Allstate Arena, Lynne stayed busy in The Travelling Wilburys alongside Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, George Harrison and Tom Petty, plus producing many of those members, The Beatles, Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh and so on. There was also the offshoot act Electric Light Orchestra Part II in between the occasional one-off from the main men, but it was 2015’s album “Alone In The Universe” and a 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction that really put momentum back in ELO’s sails.

Though Lynne is the only original remaining, he’s unquestionably the most crucial who’s put together a more than capable supporting cast to properly replicate the main aspects of the complicated symphonic/progressive/art rock amalgamation. That meant the likes of “Standin’ In The Rain,” “Evil Woman,” “All Around The World” and “Do Ya” (originated by The Move) sounded very much like they did on record, and despite Lynne being a far from flashy showman, his presence alone outside of a recording studio made this an essential destination for anyone who’s remotely cared about ELO.

Lifers probably wished the night would’ve lasted longer than 90 tightly-clustered minutes, but it nonetheless provided an ample overview of the group’s holy grail, including “Livin’ Thing,” “Can’t Get It Out of My Head,” “10538 Overture” and many others. Yet Jeff Lynne’s ELO saved the best for the last unstoppable stretch, jetting through “Sweet Talkin’ Woman,” “Telephone Line,” “Don’t Bring Me Down,” “Turn To Stone,” “Mr. Blue Sky” and its signature rendering of Chuck Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven,” all of which seemed so unlikely the Windy City would ever hear again, it may as well have been the equivalent of that very classical composer coming out of his grave to join the beloved band.

For additional information on Jeff Lynne’s ELO, visit JeffLynnesELO.com.

For a list of upcoming Live Nation shows, visit LiveNation.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at the Allstate Arena include “Wild N’ Out” Live (Aug. 17); Jaripeo Sin Fronteras (Aug. 19); “Viva Latino” Live (Aug. 23); André Rieu (Sept. 16); J. Cole (Sept. 22); Ozuna (Oct. 5); “Game Of Thrones” Live Concert Experience (Oct. 6); J Balvin (Oct. 12); Romeo Santos (Oct. 16); Phish (Oct. 26-28); Alejandro Fernandez (Nov. 16); Marc Anthony (Nov. 30); Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band (Dec. 14) and Jeff Dunham (Dec. 31). For additional details, visit Rosemont.com/Allstate/ and Ticketmaster.com.

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After 37 years away, Jeff Lynne’s ELO leads Chicagoland to the holy grail of symphonic rock

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