{"id":439,"date":"2016-01-03T16:46:05","date_gmt":"2016-01-03T21:46:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/?p=439"},"modified":"2016-01-03T16:46:05","modified_gmt":"2016-01-03T21:46:05","slug":"in-the-spirit-of-elo-the-orchestra-offers-some-not-so-strange-magic-of-its-own","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/in-the-spirit-of-elo-the-orchestra-offers-some-not-so-strange-magic-of-its-own\/","title":{"rendered":"In the spirit of ELO, The Orchestra offers some not-so-strange magic of its own"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"ELO<\/a>

ELO violinist Mik Kaminski, with his trademark blue violin, rocks with guitarist Parthenon Huxley at a concert by The Orchestra Jan. 2 at Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)<\/p><\/div>\n

One can get a pretty good critique of a concert in the men\u2019s room immediately after the show. This is particularly true of bands that have been around for decades because generally, the crowds tend to be older and nature has a way of catching up with all of us at some point. Especially if we\u2019ve had a few cocktails before and during the show.<\/p>\n

Such was the case Jan. 2 at a concert by The Orchestra at Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City. As I was leaving the men\u2019s room, another gent was staring at the wall, saying to all within earshot: \u201cWhen they broke into \u2018Telephone Line,\u201d it was like I was back in my bedroom as a kid, listening to records.\u201d<\/p>\n

As much as I wanted to, I resisted the urge to answer, \u201cDude, that\u2019s what The Vinyl Dialogues series is all about. The back stories behind the songs and albums that made up the soundtrack of our lives.\u201d That\u2019s because passing out business cards and promoting one\u2019s books in a men\u2019s room is probably not the most effective marketing approach.<\/p>\n

The Orchestra is the evolution of what was once the Electric Light Orchestra. From 1972 through 1986, ELO had 27 Top 40 hit singles in the United States and United Kingdom. Jeff Lynne, the band\u2019s co-founder along with guitarist Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan, wrote and arranged the group\u2019s original songs and produced all of its albums.<\/p>\n

In 1988, Bevan approached Lynne about making a new ELO album, but Lynne declined. Bevan, along with ELO string conductor Lou Clark and three musicians not connected with ELO – Eric Troyer, Pete Haycock and Neil Lockwood – form ELO Part II. The band would add ELO violinist Mik Kaminski in 1990.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A little electric light shines down on Lou Clark, conductor and string arranger on some of the biggest ELO albums, during a concert by The Orchestra Jan. 2.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)<\/p><\/div>\n

ELO Part II lasted until 1999 when Bevan left the group after a performance at the Sands Hotel in Atlantic City. The remaining members decided to continue as The Orchestra and have been performing as such ever since. Today\u2019s lineup includes Clark and Kaminiski from the original ELO, Troyer and guitarist Parthenon Huxley from ELO Part II, former Styx guitarist Glen Burtnik and drummer Gordon Townsend.<\/p>\n

Although Jeff Lynne released a new album, \u201cAlone in the Universe\u201d just a few months ago, in November 2015, under the band name Jeff Lynne\u2019s ELO, Saturday night belonged to The Orchestra.<\/p>\n

I have friends who will say that it\u2019s not ELO if Lynne isn\u2019t in the band. But really, how many bands from the 1970s still have the same lineup? I\u2019ve seen Hall & Oates, but I\u2019ve also seen Daryl Hall without John Oates and John Oates without Daryl Hall. I\u2019ve seen Brian Wilson with the Beach Boys and the Beach Boys without Brian Wilson. I\u2019ve seen Ringo without John, Paul and George. It\u2019s all good stuff to me.<\/p>\n

For me, it\u2019s about the music – and the spirit of the music. I\u2019m not a critic, just a fan, and the men\u2019s room commentator was right: When The Orchestra played all those great ELO songs, it reminded me of those times in my youth that were associated with those songs.<\/p>\n

And The Orchestra played all the ELO hits: \u201cEvil Woman,\u201d No. 10 in 1975; \u201cStrange Magic,\u201d No. 14 in 1976; \u201cLivin\u2019 Thing,\u201d No. 13 in 1976; \u201cDo Ya,\u201d No. 24 in 1977; \u201cTurn to Stone,\u201d No. 13 in 1977; the aforementioned \u201cTelephone Line,\u201d No. 7 in 1977; \u201cMr. Blue Sky,\u201d No. 35 in 1978; \u201cSweet Talkin\u2019 Woman,\u201d No. 17 in 1978. The encore was \u201cDon\u2019t Bring Me Down,\u201d No. 4 in 1979.<\/p>\n

\"Eric<\/a>

Eric Troyer plays the keyboards, top, as former Styx guitarist Glen Burtnik , foreground, belts out vocals during the show.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)<\/p><\/div>\n

It was the first time I had seen a show at the Superstar Theater at Resorts Casino Hotel. Resorts itself is one of the oldest casinos in Atlantic City, opening in 1978. The first act in the 1,700-seat theater back then was Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme. Although its been renovated over the years, the theater still has cocktail tables in the middle of the seating area with those cool leather horseshoe banquette seats, like a lot of casino theaters had back in the day. I\u2019m not sure if Frank, Dean and Sammy ever performed at Resorts, but it\u2019s not difficult to imagine them having done so.<\/p>\n

I always get a kick out of my generation at a classic rock concert these days. We might not be able to stand for an entire concert anymore, but we can still get up out of our seats and dance a bit. And The Orchestra had us up and dancing for much of the evening. My main concern when I get up to dance at a concert now is that I don\u2019t pull a hamstring, strain a hip or throw out my back.<\/p>\n

The Orchestra features experienced, professional musicians who know how to put on a good show. The Superstar Theater at Resorts is a good venue in which to see a show.<\/p>\n

As the ELO song\u2019s lyrics suggest . . . \u201cDon’t bring me down, no no no no no no no no. (Whoo-hoo-hoo). I\u2019ll tell you once more before I get off the floor, don\u2019t bring me down.\u201d<\/p>\n

And The Orchestra didn\u2019t. Quite the opposite, in fact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One can get a pretty good critique of a concert in the men\u2019s room immediately after the show. This is particularly true of bands that have been around for decades because generally, the crowds tend to be older and nature has a way of catching up with all of us at some point. Especially if […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[89,92,129,277],"class_list":["post-439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tvdbook","tag-electric-light-orchestra","tag-elo","tag-jeff-lynne","tag-the-orchestra"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vinyldialogues.com\/VinylDialoguesBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}