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I am a very new eels fan. The last album (blinking lights) is the only album I have heard other than the town hall/orchestra cd.

 

I had no idea what to expect at this show since it was a free show and my first eels show, but let me say, it felt like I stepped into the twilight zone.

 

First of all, the venue was packed. Literally packed. I got there as E took the stage. I was disoriented just trying to find a place to stand (I found some space all the way in the back) since I was expecting a pretty mellow crowd, but was thrown off by the music too. It seemed as if Eels made a concerted effort to tour and play the songs as opposite as possible from the last tour with the orchestra. Cool idea, but I just didnt expect it at all.

 

I have to admit that at first, I didnt know if eels were another opening act!! Like I said -- I am very new eels fan. But anyway, once I realized what was going on, I settled into my spot and enjoyed a relatively short 1 hr set of crazy punk garage band renditions of the eels songs I had only previous known through the town hall cd.

 

In all, I had a great time. E is quite the lead man. Some of those songs are so beautiful that I was disappointed to hear them done in a punk-y garage-y sort of way. But I like when bands change things up, and it was definitely fun.

 

From my limited knowledge of his catalog, these are the songs that I knew:

 

Old shit/new shit

Railroad man

Mother mary

I'm going to stop pretending that I didnt break your heart

Dog faced boy

 

Was anyone else there? Any thoughts?

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I was there! I loved how he rocked out on those songs. his band was great and the security guy was hilarious. it seems to be some sort of trend now for a band to have some guy standing and doing nothing, occassionally adding percussion and funny words. I loved his punching dance.

I was happy to hear them do something off Daisies of the Galaxy - I Like Birds. awesome show! Mr. Flick loved it too!

 

Also, Smoosh was really good, I was surprised! just keyboards and drums but they had a pretty full sound. one song had a Led Zepplin sound to it before they started singing. great show & great venue!

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Sounds like a great time. :cheers

 

I caught them at the Fillmore a few weeks ago, and I've seen them a number of times over the years. The eels are one of those under-the-radar bands; that is, no matter how much critical acclaim they receive, nothing prepares you for their live show. Over the years, I've seen them take a number of novel approaches to their tours. My favorite is probably the Daisies of the Galaxy tour, where a frail-acting E was accompanied onstage and offstage by a pair of roadies. That was also the show where he told us about the unlucky streak of them playing San Francisco, as at least two other shows coincided with deaths in the immediate family. :(

 

Even when I don't love their albums, I make an effort to see them live because I know they'll defy expectations.

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the security guy was hilarious.

 

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. That guy just added to my confusion. Seriously, between the hard rocking, the Security guy onstage, the crowd, etc. it took me a good couple of songs to figure out what the hell was going on. I wasnt able to get there in time for smoosh so I had to stand all the way in the back.

 

Was this a "typical" eels show? Is there such a thing? Where were you sitting/standing?

 

My favorite parts of the show were when he just played those 2 or 3 songs from the new album solo with an electric guitar. Those songs are just so beautiful. I wish I had known more of the tunes... Sometimes it stinks to be a newbie.

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Oh yeah, I forgot about that. That guy just added to my confusion. Seriously, between the hard rocking, the Security guy onstage, the crowd, etc. it took me a good couple of songs to figure out what the hell was going on. I wasnt able to get there in time for smoosh so I had to stand all the way in the back.

 

Was this a "typical" eels show? Is there such a thing? Where were you sitting/standing?

 

My favorite parts of the show were when he just played those 2 or 3 songs from the new album solo with an electric guitar. Those songs are just so beautiful. I wish I had known more of the tunes... Sometimes it stinks to be a newbie.

 

actually, it was my first Eels show too, so I have no other to compare it to. I was sitting far over on stage left, next to the building. I was kind of expecting something more low key and folky maybe, but I was glad he rocked out. brought a big smile to my face.

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