Reviewed: Eels @ The Enmore Theatre

Saturday's Eels gig started early, and by 8 o'clock people were already crowded in to see Sydney's Laura Imbruglia, the second support act. The quirky Sydneysider seemed like an odd choice to support the melancholic Eels but she rose to the occasion.

Her usual overt jokiness was muted, and the country-tinged acoustic songs worked well. Her songs wryly took on failed relationships and her direct charm easily won over the crowd. A ukulele player and a cover of the Louvin Brothers classic 'Don't Laugh' rounded off a fun set.

A Disney-style classical fanfare announced the arrival of the bearded and bandannaed E. His infinitely sad, gentle voice carried him through the first two songs easily. Mark Oliver Everett's voice carried and transcended all the pain in his life, and it's rough, indie-soul textures could redeem the worst song.

E was soon joined by his band, bearded like an indie-rock ZZ Top. The stompy 'Prizefighter' announced that introspection would give way to rock and roll, though the band did make the vocals harder to hear. Eels had a nice rockabilly feel, but they traded off E's extraordinary songs for the fun of a mediocre rock/punk band. A bit of 'fuck winter' stage banter and a cover of 'Summer In The City' earned a lot of good will, though 'My Beloved Monster' lost some of its power in the sped up format.

This was my first Eels gig, and some of my disappointment may have come because I expected a heart-wrenching, cathartic and ultimately depressing show. The band seemed quite happy to cover 'Summertime', throw wrapped ice cream into the crowd, and play 'Souljacker' as a great electric blues song. 'Mr E's Beautiful Blues' even ended up with a fan gyrating on one of the speaker decks and 'I Like Birds' worked as a singalong.

  Still, I wish there were more moments like the heartbreaking 'I'm Going To Stop Pretending That I Didn't Break Your Heart' or the stunning closer 'From Which I Came/A Magic World'. The show was fun, and the audience and band both had a good time. But it was in the quieter songs that Eels really shone, and there weren't quite enough of them. E is still one of the best lyricists around, though, and his gravel-honey voice made it easy to overlook the other flaws.

by Christian Brimo

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