Caught Live (8): ELO Again @ The Robin 14/12/17

ELO Again landed at The Robin 2 in Bilston last night (Thursday 14th December) for the penultimate date of their successful Return To The Blue tour delivering a cohesive, powerful performance of classic ELO tunes from their iconic hit debut single "10538 Overture" all the way through to "When I Was A Boy". Just over nine months had elapsed since Yours Truly KJS had seen this particular orchestral septet in Lichfield and, from the evidence on view here, the band have matured significantly in a tight musical outfit with a flair for enjoyable showmanship courtesy of the experience of their many theatre shows.

What I liked about their 25 song set on this occasion was their relaxed demeanour as Jeff Lynne penned classics such as "Evil Woman", "Showdown", "Telephone Line", "Mr. Blue Sky" and "Livin' Thing" were given the ELO Again treatment, delighting the buoyant audience. My faves this time around were "Tightrope", "Can't Get It Out Of My Head", "10538 Overture", "Do Ya" and an excellent (if not welcome) live rendition of the vastly underrated "Calling America". This was a high tempo and energetic concert - a delight to attend, watch and review. We now look forward to what ELO Again will play in 2018 ...

ELO Again performed: "Tightrope" ~ "Evil Woman" ~ "Livin' Thing" ~ "Can't Get It Out Of My Head" ~ "Confusion" ~ "Hold On Tight" ~ "10538 Overture" ~ "Wild West Hero" ~ "Showdown" ~ "Sweet Talkin' Woman" ~ "The Diary Of Horace Wimp" ~ "Calling America" ~ "All Over The World" ~ "Twilight" ~ "Do Ya" ~ "When I Was A Boy" ~ "Shine A Little Love" ~ "Last Train To London" ~ "Telephone Line" ~ "Rock 'n' Roll Is King" ~ "Turn To Stone" ~ "Rockaria!" ~ "Mr. Blue Sky" ~ "Don't Bring Me Down" ~ "Roll Over Beethoven"

"Is It All White?" (Photo: Christian Evans)

ELO Again were: Colin Smith [Guitar/Lead Vocals]; Mike McGibney [Bass Guitar/Vox]; Andy Smith [Synths/Keys/Vox]; Pete Burrows [Piano/Keys/Vocoder]; Matt Weston [Drums]; Ruth Rose [Violin/Vox] and Sion Dafydd Dawson [Cello/guitar]

Find out more about ELO Again and their show via their official web site thus:

www.eloagain.co.uk

elobeatlesforever (elobf) recommends ELO Again to those enlightened folks who enjoy the music of ELO, Jeff Lynne, Roy Wood, Wizzard, The Move, The Idle Race, 'Brum Beat', The Beatles and related artistes.

Until next "Time" in the ELO [and related] Universe ... KJS ... 15-Dec-2017