The ELO Experience at Sheffield City Hall Review
The ELO Experience
City Hall, Sheffield
27 June 2015
Reviewed by Jenny Seymour
I recall as a young girl hearing the sounds of ELO blasting out from my Dad’s 1970’s music centre, but as the LP’s were replaced by CD’s and then MP3 tracks, ELO seem to have slipped from some music collections.
What better way to get back into ELO than to take my Dad to Sheffield City Hall to watch the ELO Experience, an 8-piece band which recreates the fabulous sounds of Jeff Lynne’s Electric Light Orchestra.
The band really does sound like the original ELO and much of this is down to lead singer Andy Louis, who both looks and sounds like Jeff Lynne. However, it’s not just Andy’s voice that’s impressive, the other band members are quality musicians and the vocal harmonies are great.
The strings section (cellos and violin) was equally impressive, and especially enjoyable were the violin solos performed by Liz Stacey, a Sheffielder, performing in her home town – she was tremendous.
Also, as a Sheffielder for most of my life, I have to comment about the City Hall as a concert venue. The acoustics always seem to be amazing in the round concert hall – a great venue for concerts and it was where I went to my first ever “gig” as a teenager. Although sell-out arena tours may be good, smaller more personal venues like this always seem to be the better “gigs”.
When you consider that Jeff Lynne created some of the great songs of the 70s and 80s, and that his music often blended classical with Rock/Pop and incorporated lots of special effect sounds, then you realise how difficult it must be to recreate. However, thanks to musical director, Steve Hemsley, the ELO Experience hits the nail right of the head – fabulous.
From the first song (All over the World) right through to their encore (Mr Blue Sky), this was a great night out. The audience loved it (and so did my Dad and I), waving our blue glow-sticks in the air and everyone was out of their seats upstanding by the end.
The music was accompanied by a video backdrop and some of these background videos were both impressive and amusing. I particularly liked the Olympic 2012 theme which was played alongside “Hold on Tight (to your dream)”, but also enjoyed the backdrops to “Roll Over Beethoven” and “The Diary of Horace Wimp”.
In short this was a great night out – quality music, quality musicians, quality lead singer, quality performance.
So, did I enjoy it ? Not half! Would I go to watch them again? Definitely! Should you go to see them – Absolutely!!
If you like ELO and Jeff Lynn, then the ELO Experience is a must-see – get a ticket, if you can!
Rating: 5/5 
The ELO Experience are currently on tour until November 2015 with the next stop at the Corn Exchange in Newbury on 4 July 2014. For more information on tour dates and venues visit www.elotribute.com.
Sheffield City Hall, Barkers Pool, Sheffield, S1 2JA | 0114 2 789 789
