Eels

“I think, you know, I’ll be ok”. It's certainly no accidental prologue, the one with which Mr. E introduces himself to the Milan crowd at Alcatraz, after more than two years since his last appearance within the walls of the Conservatorio. The lyrics of “Grace Kelly Blues” sound almost like a paradigm of the trajectory traced by Eels across the trilogy of albums churned out over the past year and a half: no matter how deep the scars, every day brings with it a new, unexpected promise.

Ice-cream-man overalls, dark glasses, black bandana pulled down over his forehead: E looks like one of ZZ Top just escaped from a criminal asylum as he walks out onto the stage completely alone, armed only with his unmistakable sky-blue guitar. His voice echoes hoarser than ever, the notes emerging spare and essential. Then, alongside him arrives “The” Chet, his loyal guitar sidekick for more than five years now, and “Little Bird” and “End Times” blossom like impalpable elegies.

But that's just the appetizer, because this time Eels take the shape of a dazzling rock 'n' roll machine tuned to Sixties frequencies. Decked out in skinny black ties, flat caps and regulation beards, the full band takes the stage: the impassive Kool G Murder on bass, newcomer P-Boo on guitar and Knuckles on drums, ready to unleash on the crowd a barrage of tight, punchy rock-blues, from “Prizefighter” to “Tremendous Dynamite”. In between, a couple of covers that seem intent on immediately spelling out the patron saints of the evening: “She Said Yeah”, plucked straight off the Rolling Stones' shelf, and the classic “Summer In The City” by the Lovin' Spoonful, polished up for the occasion.

Just enough time to catch a breath with the delicate shades of “In My Dreams” and “In My Younger Days”, and then the race starts again with a smile on its lips: from “Souljacker” comes a “Jungle Telegraph” bursting with invention, while yet another metamorphosis of “My Beloved Monster” has it dressed up as a funky little divertissement.

The lights turn blood-red over the howls of a raw “Fresh Blood”, while the somewhat swaggering riffs of “Dog Faced Boy” and “Souljacker Part I” stoke the crowd's warmth as always. Softening the tones are the silvery interplay of “Spectacular Girl” and the choruses of the dreamy “That Look You Give That Guy” (already a small classic in the Eels songbook).

He doesn't waste time on chatter, E, stringing one song after another in rapid succession: only during the ritual band introductions does he loosen up with a few quips alongside his four bandmates, handing the microphone to Knuckles for a short number penned by the drummer himself.

Unsurprisingly, the show focuses mainly on material from the last three albums, with “Hombre Lobo” leading the way: but for the grand finale, E uncorks the vintage stuff, gifting the crowd an irresistible “Mr. E's Beautiful Blues” done up in “Twist And Shout” style, and an “I Like Birds” turned into the now-familiar punk rampage.

Just as during the Eels' last “electric” tour back in 2006, E bids farewell by playing at being a crooner: this time not alongside Frank Sinatra, but no less than George Gershwin... Mark Oliver Everett's “Summertime” (another nod to the decidedly summery spirit of the evening) owes more to Billy Stewart's histrionic version than to the original: and while E amuses himself by hurling ice cream at the audience (!), Tarantino is presumably taking notes for the soundtrack of his next film.

The possessed gospel of “Looking Up” is the best way to close out the party, even though the crowd is clearly still up for dancing. But once again E is stingy with encores: a searing “I'm Going To Stop Pretending That I Didn't Break Your Heart” (the sole nod to “Blinking Lights And Other Revelations”) and then, as if to tie everything together, a heartfelt “Oh So Lovely”, the nerve center of the latest Eels offering (“Tomorrow Morning”, somewhat sidelined in tonight's setlist). “Oh so lovely / Lord above me / I feel my heart changin’ in mysterious new ways”, E declares, his face hidden behind his stage mask. But not his heart — that one he always puts fully on the line. “Now how can I tell you how grateful I am?”.

(20/09/2010)

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