Electric Light Orchestra Tribute Makes an Impression

I heard yesterday that Peter Oudman sadly passed away in Calgary on Saturday. If you ever attended any Pasitos de Luz Riverfest celebrations over a dozen years at El Rio BBQ Bar, you would have met him at some point. He and his wife Teena, were responsible for building Casa Connor, the castle-like rehab facility for children with disabilities. Peter and Teena lost their grandson Connor when he was only 8 years old and have spent all their time since then devoted to raising money for Pasitos in two countries. Rest now, dear Peter, your legacy will live on and on. Love and strength to you, Teena, and the rest of your family.

Out of the blue came an Electric Light Orchestra Tribute show at Coco Cabaret last week. Wow! Fifty years ago, when ELO was playing Maple Leaf Gardens, the band – full of nice guys – stayed in the hotel where I worked, across from CBC’s main offices in downtown Toronto. When I saw guitarist Paul Lions Sellerier was heading up the tribute that included some of the best musicians in town, I couldn’t wait to go.

In retrospect, ELO was a great band. Innovative, blending classical music with rock and rock and gorgeous, rich harmonies. Their music made much more of an impression last week than it did three-quarters of my life ago, when I was buried in Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, et al. There were so many songs that I knew nearly all the words to and had never attributed to ELO or anybody else; I just knew them. So add ‘diverse’ and ‘timely’ to the list of superlatives.

This delightful tribute played to a packed house at Coco Cabaret. It was a good 80 to 90 minutes of well-played music with appropriate light show and video backgrounds, and, can I get an amen? No dancers. Just excellent music across the board and no distractions. Take a deep bow, Paul – a wonderful concert with music that had come and gone decades before anybody on the stage was even born. I would love to see this faithful tribute again.