cover_650x250Eels at The Olympia Theatre, Dublin on Friday 15th March 2013

“Ladies and Gentlemen, hold on to your hats..”

This came bellowing out of the speakers as Mark Oliver Everett and his ever-changing band landed on stage on Friday night – and the warning was warranted, we were in for a night of epic proportions. Dressed in matching Adidas tracksuits and shades The Eels looked like The Blues Brothers making an exercise video, or some super-breed of designer Beatniks: Wacky yet insightful, The Eels are definitely a tough group to define.

While the hardcore fans of vintage Eels material might have been disappointed at the lack of older, ‘Beautiful Freak’ era stuff on the night, there was a lot of quality new material to be heard. They dipped mainly into the latest three albums ‘Hombre Lobo’, ‘Tomorrow Morning’ and their newest record ‘Wonderful, Glorious’. With a back catalogue like theirs though, that’s not surprising. In fact, it’s doubtful that any two Eels shows are ever the same.

They’re up for it and in good spirits the whole way through the night – those costumes alone would tell us that – but they also kept making jokes and it was clear they gelled together well – standing almost in a huddle with E giving out hugs between songs. There was even a musical marriage of sorts between him and his guitarist, promising to take each other ‘in sickness and health’ etc etc, which was a bit bizzare!

Something that’s striking about their live performance is the way the songs hit different levels and spin through various genres in a complex weave: for example there was a childlike innocence coming through in Open My Present and I’m Your Brave Little Soldier as E shook, rattles and stamped his feet. Then things turned primitive for Hombre Lobo and got a bit Gothic during Fresh Blood, accompanied by eerie red flashing lights.

In My Dreams changed the pace again as the gentle lullaby brought the hushed crowd to a standstill, and their cover of Itchicoo Park was a welcome addition. Bringing it back up to rock n’roll heights they nailed it with Prizefighter and Peach Blossom. Finally those old-school fans among us weren’t forgotten, thanks to the sped-up Mr. E’s Beautiful Blues / My Beloved Monster mash-up encore.

With constant twists and turns, highs and lows, there’s only one guarantee – The Eels remain anything but predictable.

EELS Photo Gallery

Photos by: Alessio Michelini