4Q Magazine

Eels (Live Review)

by Paddy Redders on 19.09.10


Manchester Academy 04.09.10

Walking into the Academy tonight you can feel the buzz about this gig immediately. A certain air of anticipation fills the room, and most definitely an expectation of something special.

After buying a pint of expensive, metallic, acidic but beautiful cider I check out the support act, Alice Gold. A beautiful voice no doubt, but looks a bit dwarfed up on the stage on her own. To be fair she wasn’t getting the attention she deserved from the crowd, but everyone, like me, are here for the EELS!

A huge cheer erupts, as the distinctive figure of Mr Mark ‘E’ Everett walks onto the stage, guitar in hand, dressed all in white looking rather holy, sporting a beard ZZ top would be proud of, dark shade and bandana. The man is cool as fuck, mainly because he just doesn’t seem to care what anyone thinks. The rapscallion just does his thing, and why not, as it clearly works!

He kicks off on his own with an acoustic tune, ‘Grace Kelly Blues’. You can hear a pin drop as he plays this delicate heartfelt song. Once finished, the full band appear and we are treated to some full on, raucous, loud, tight, powerful rock ‘n’ roll. The band rips through song after song relentlessly, hardly stopping between songs. Effortlessly pumping out hits, in a slick professional manner, with an outstanding display of musicianship. Everett’s voice is at its usual raspy best, sensual but coarse. Instantly and reassuringly distinctive, and somewhat comforting. As he broodingly howls “Sweet baby, I need fresh blood”, you really do believe the man. There is sincerity in this voice.

Stand out songs for me are ‘Prizefighter’, ‘I Like Birds’, ‘Fresh Blood’, ‘In My Dreams’, ‘Dog Faced Boy’, ‘Souljacker Part I’, and most notably one of the last songs of the set, the sing-along, ‘Baby Loves Me’. Pure brutality meets sensitivity.
Eels have a massive back catalogue to call on now, and it shows in the quality of the set, and the quality of the songs they didn’t even feel the need to include! A cover of Lovin’ Spoonful’s Summer In The City brings the house down and puts everyone in the building in the mood for a party.

One thing that is clearly evident here is that Mr E is having the time of his life up there onstage. If I could see his eyes, I’m sure they would be smiling. He looks comfortable, at ease with his band, in control of everything and producing the goods. For someone who has had such a hard life, with some tragic family deaths, it is great to see. Everyone walked out of the academy satisfied and happy, thank you Mr E and the Eels.

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