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The Orchestra : B.B. Kings, New York, U.S.A. - 28th May 2002

Let me start by saying I have never been a fan of ELO Part II so I was not sure what to expect when I attended The Orchestra concert last night in NYC. I am a true 'JeffLynneisELOandELOisJeffLynneophile' but I have been desperate to hear some live ELO since attending the PBS concerts in LA almost exactly a year ago. Since we have heard nothing regarding a revised tour, I figured seeing "The Orchestra" would be as close I would get to seeing a live ELO concert for a while.

The concerts were played at B.B. Kings Blues Club & Grill in New York City at 8:00pm and 10:30pm. There probably weren't more than 100 people for the 8:00pm show that I attended. I meet several other ELO fans at the show and we talked about ELO, Jeff Lynne, the tour last year that never happened, the LA shows, Zoom CD/DVD, and lack of promotion for Jeff Lynne, ELO and The Orchestra (as represented by the sparse attendance). Most of the fans I talked to say they find out about Zoom and the Zoom tour by luck or accident. One poor guy had front row seats for the Continental Arena show so he was rather upset when the tour was cancelled.

The Orchestra came on about 8:10pm and started off with "Turn to Stone" and my initial impression were, these guys sound pretty good. They got better throughout the night and played for a total of 90 minutes or so. I have always thought the Kelly's vocal harmonies with Jeff during ELO's heyday were an important part of the unique ELO sound. Kelly's voice sounded great last night, whether he sang lead or backing vocals. Parthenon Huxley and Eric Troyer, who also sang lead vocals on some of the ELO classics, also did an admirable job. Hearing Mik Kaminski's violin during those ELO classics was a real treat. I agree with Louis Clark, who when introducing Mik said, "Here is someone I have known for 28 years who helped give ELO their unique sound ... and is truly the best violinist in Rock and Roll..."

The band played the following 12 classic ELO songs:
Turn to Stone
Evil Woman
Living Thing
Can't Get It Out of My Head
Showdown
Sweet Talkin' Woman
Mama Belle
Telephone Line
Do Ya
Concerto for a Rainy Day/Standing in the Rain
Mr. Blue Sky
Don't Bring Me Down (Encore)

They also played 5 songs from their new album "No Rewind."
Jewel and Johnny
No Rewind
Under London Skies
Before We Go
Twist and Shout

Until last night I had only heard snippets of a few songs from the "No Rewind" album. The live performances of these songs were great and as a result I am will probably purchase the album very soon. While last night's concert could never come close to the experience of seeing Jeff Lynne and ELO live in LA last year, overall the show was really good. There were a few rough edges, like Eric Troyer forgetting the words to CGIOOMH and some technical issues with the sound system. The band definitely enjoyed playing and I would recommend the show to any ELO fan who wants to hear some good live performances of classic ELO music. The Orchestra is playing May 29, 2002 at Maddies, in Frazer, PA (just outside Philadelphia), May 31, 2002 at the State Theater in Fall Church, VA (just outside of Washington, DC), June 1, 2002 at the Recher Theater in Towson, MD (near Baltimore), June 2, 2002 at Bodles in Chester NY and June 8, 2002 in Shawnee, Kansas. The tickets prices are reasonable, only about $25 so if you get a chance, go see the show.

Review kindly provided by John Apker - May 2002