The Eel’s 2019 tour was billed as ‘The Triumphant Return of the Triumphant Return of the Eels’. With this gig being twice rescheduled because of Covid, this truly feels most triumphant indeed.

Over the years Eels have been prolific, maintaining a quality most bands could only dream of on their best release. Classics like ‘Beautiful Freak’, ‘Electro-Shock Blues’, ‘Daisies of the Galaxy’ or ‘Souljacker’ are still highlights but every album is filled with gold.

So with the release of 2022’s ‘Extreme Witchcraft’, despite only being 2 years since The Eel’s 13th album ‘Earth to Dora’ was released, it felt like there was time to breathe and the band released arguably their best album since 2001’s ‘Souljacker’. It’s no coincidence then that some of the songs could have come from any of their earlier recordings.

Boasting songs like ‘I like Birds’ and ‘It’s a Motherfucker’ The Eels have a quirkiness that can only come from E, a man who can make you rock out to one song, laugh at another, then cry at the next.

Has it really be 4 years?

Eels return invigorated after 4 years of being stuck inside. It’s also the start of the their European and US tour, so it’s a real honour to be here at the Nottingham Rock City. “We just sat at home & aged!” E proclaims to the rather lively Sunday night, crowd; Nottingham can be a reserved place at times but not tonight.

This feels like the first gig review that should come with a SPOILER warning. Not because of the setlist, but the little sketches and skits The Eels pepper throughout their set. Thing is, they are all so well delivered, like any great comedian, I’m not sure what was ad libbed and what was scripted. But just in case, for the first time in a rock review SPOILER ALERT!…

Before the band enter the stage, the theme from Space Odyssey 2001 is played, all out of tune and in true wonky Eels fashion – ‘Space Oddity 2023’ anyone? With the crowd already laughing, band leader E has us in the palm of his hand before Eels have even hit the stage.

In a gold tuxedo, E came out literally punching the air, like in the Rocky films I know he loves – minus the meat. Dressed like a twisted high school prom band, the gig opens with the loud and dirty blues of ‘Steam Engine‘ from their latest album ‘Extreme Witchcraft’.

Despite all the shit going on in the world, there’s still great beauty, especially in music, and it’s good to be reminded of this when E declares “It’s a good night on earth, right?! If you’re at Rock City!”

Exercise Goal Achieved

As the songs whizz by, it’s all rather effortless and their 2 hours with Nottingham flew past, with The Eels proving E’s words “We’re old as fuck & still rock like fuck!” With age on their mind, E declares they’re wearing Apple Watches to monitor their fitness levels. Later, after another energetic performance the words “Exercise goal achieved” flash up above E’s head to huge laughter and applause. A neat trick that’s repeated throughout the show for each band member.

You can’t be a great a song writer and that funny without being hugely intelligent. It’s in the genes; E’s father was the American physicist who first proposed the many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics. This led to E’s cameo in Marvel’s ‘Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania’ in tribute to E Snr.

Choon!

When we get back to the music, it’s evident The Eels aren’t a band who bang out hit-after-hit, they’re a band who bang out choon-after-choon. And more than any band with such a legacy, E has earned the right to play any song from their catalogue, without the pressure of playing any particular song. It’s fair to say some songs have a similar opening sound, which E hilariously acknowledges when the crowd cheer during an intro, as he stops and quips “You don’t know what is yet, it sounds like 12 of our songs!” Fucking brilliant.

The truth is I have no idea how spontaneous any of this is, but it all feels like it’s off the cuff. In one pre-planned skit Eel’s drummer Little Joe is caught FaceTiming his daughter Nora. E steels the phone and the band offer to play, so she can get to sleep when missing her father. The audience take this opportunity to shout songs, to which E bounces back “Nora’s not talking requests, assholes!”. I can’t remember the last time I laughed this much at a rock gig.

Photo: Gus Black

The tour also celebrates 20 years of The Chet, Eel’s second longest serving member. The guitar slinger has been a great addition, sublimely moving from blues, to grungy chords, to beautiful solos with ease. Completing the line-up is Big Al on bass, who elegantly fills the shoes of long time collaborator Kool G Murder.

Along the way we’re treated to classics like ‘Novocaine for the Soul’, ‘Dog Faced Boy’ and a Psychobilly version of ‘I Like Birds’. E is a man who knows how to pace a set, as he rocks one minute then glides through a song of sadness the next, with the audience riding his music like a wave and hanging off every word.

Encore!

Eel’s are known for their love of a good encore, with only Pearl Jam able to rival them. As the Eels declare it’s the last song in their set, E makes an inside joke that they’re about to begin “the charade of walking off and returning” but teases “Maybe it’s not a charade, it’s up to you”. This will resonate with anyone who went to see them on their ‘Blinking Lights…‘ tour, with the band still playing encores literally after everyone had left. I even ran back into the theatre when I heard them return to the stage for the fifth time.

The Eels return for the first of two encores and E is clearly a happy man, and also a little hammered. He forgets a couple of his lyrics, he stumbles on the stage and stammers a little, blaming old age and whatever was in the cups he’d been sipping from all night. It’s so good to have him back, to see that kind of joy emanate from him and to share that with the audience. This joy is never more evident than when E jumps into the crowd and upon returning to the stage he celebrates his expedition with “I just got Covid! And it tastes good!” that has even The Chet laughing his ass off.

So how do a band like the Eels end such a stellar set? How do you possibly top a curfew busting 2hrs of non-stop rock goodness? By playing ‘God Gave Rock and Roll to You‘, that’s how. And in the words of Bill and Ted the Eel’s really were “most triumphant”.

For more on the Eels and their tour visit eelstheband.com