Thursday 13/10/05 Eels @ The Apollo, Manchester

With all the other festivities going on in Manchester tonight to celebrate the legacy of John Peel, where better to be than a gig from a band that embodies all the things that the great man once championed? Mark E. Everett and his revolving door of Eels may have reached mass public conscious only for a very brief amount of time, but no-one does lo-fi, challenging, complicated, oddball pop like E, and that he is not revered in a similar manner to say, Tom Waits (who, incidentally, eagerly awaits every Eels release) is nothing short of scandalous.

 

That said, if E really was the star he deserves to be, than maybe he wouldn’t have the desire, or for that matter, the balls to constantly reinvent himself every time he steps onto the stage. Previous tours have seen either the guitars turned up to 11 or the stage filled with everything bar the kitchen sink, but tonight is a more understated affair. E is surrounded by a string section, a huge double bass and a multi-instrumentalist called ‘The Chet’, who would have stole the show had the show not included some of the best underground music of recent times.

 

With a predominantly string based set, it’s perhaps no surprise that the set mainly comprised of this years criminally underrated 'Blinking Lights and Other Revelations' and 2000’s classic 'Daisies of the Galaxy'. But with songs as good as 'Jeannie’s Diary', 'Packing Blankets' and 'Trouble with Dreams', none of the devoted were about to argue. But the most impressive aspect of the night was how E (dressed in top hat and suit and present with cane) reinvented some of the songs that you wouldn’t have immediately thought would have suited the circumstances. 'Novocaine for the Soul' reappeared as a drone heavy, string laden beast and 'Flyswatter' climaxed with nearly ten minutes of feedback, rampant strings and thumping bass, and is quite wonderful. The strive to change things even results in a switched on vibrator being used to assist the wall of noise, which is something of a first for Gigwise.

 

But in all seriousness, talents like E need to be treasured. He may look and act strange and write music that can flirt with being pathologically gloomy, but his sheer disregard for any rulebook and truly original vision sets Eels apart. Mr Peel would certainly approve.