Eels

Joanne,

I'm sorry for calling you when drunk last night. I know you want no contact with me but it was all so beautiful and I got high after seeing Eels. You know how much I loved them when we were together. 'End Times' got me through our end times. I hope that Simon isn't too mad with me this morning.

We saw some mighty fine gigs at Nottingham's Rock City didn't we? This was as good as any of them. Eels are still quite a draw in these parts. I'm sure that most of the audience, packed in like sardines, have been fans since 1996. It's predominantly an audience of blokes of a certain age. I didn't feel as old as I sometimes do when at gigs.

I'm sorry to report that I didn't see much of the support, Nicole Atkins. Just her and her guitar - A gothic Americana wail that left me cold. I drank instead. She described one tune, 'The Tower' as a medieval epic. It certainly went on.

Eels were a different prospect altogether. There's five of them in the current set up. Three guitarists, electric and bass stand in a line at the back of the stage like backing singers in a boy band. E is stood on a raised plinth on the front right of the stage, a flat cap containing his grizzle. Knuckles, the drummer, completes the crescent at the front left. All five are co-ordinated in matching Adidas black track suits, three white stripes down the side. It's a nod to hip hop style.

This is a set designed to showcase the newish album 'Wonderful, Glorious'. There's very little time for the mellow introspection or dark despair that can sometimes be associated with the Eels. Tonight, the stall is set for rock from the opening chords of set opener 'Bombs Away', the bar-room garage blues of 'Dog Faced Boy' merging into the call and response of Fleetwood Mac cover 'Oh well'. It's mates playing to mates. In between songs, E hugs band members and salutes their prowess. His team are top of the league tonight and he's in celebratory mood. He's shaking a maraca and dancing as awkwardly as the Dads in the audience. He knows how to appeal to his crowd.

Joanne, did you know that an Eel is toxic to humans until cooked?

"Alright Dudes, did you enjoy the rock?" says E after a stunning version of 'Tremendous Dynamite'. "Let's do a couple for the ladies", and there's a concession to our eardrums – Maraca makes way for tambourine and we get a glorious gentler, jellied interlude of 'That Look You Give That Guy' and 'On The Ropes'. But it's rock that they've come to play and with 'Peach Blossom' and 'Prizefighter' we're back in that park. 'The Turnaround' begins as a softer lament but ends back in that familiar territory with a cathartic wall of noise.

E introduces us to his team. He seems genuinely happy with this version of his band and so he should be because they are astonishing musicians. Chet and E have now been "rocking around the world for 10 years" and so vows are renewed between the 'dear bros' in a mock ceremony. Knuckles gets the chance to show of his skills in an extended drum solo. 'Go Knuckles'! 'Itchycoo Park' seems like an unlikely cover on the surface but the brotherly love that clearly exudes within the band is all too beautiful. More group hugs ensue.

We're on the home straight when that hardcore riff from 'Souljacker, Part 1' kicks off. You always said, Joanne, that Tarantino should use that in a movie and tonight I see exactly what you mean. "It's been very nice to rock your city" states E as 'Wonderful, Glorious' brings the regular set to an end. There are still three encores though for those of us still needing more block of rock. There's skiffle-rock (minus the washboards) in 'I'm Your Brave Little Soldier', stoner funk rock in 'Fresh Blood' and a concession to those concerned that this set is light on 'hits' with a mash up of 'My Beloved Monster' and 'Mr E's Beautiful Blues'. Most of the audience have departed, the house lights have been on for five minutes and roadies are pottering when Eels do their thing and return to the stage for a final encore. 'Open My Present' feels like an appropriate gift for those that have stayed.

I'm nursing the hangover from hell now Joanne. I think it might have been worth it. Again, my apologies for drunken dialling. I am getting better. It won't happen again.

Pete
x

FUTURE GIGS

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