"221 collective years and 711 pounds of pure rock 'n roll spirit!"-–
One is often not sure which version of Eels, led by mainstay, E (aka Mark Oliver Everett) you're going to get, as the lineup and musical direction often changes from album to album; but this time out (and after a few pandemic-related postponements which added up to a three-year wait), this was the lean essence of Eels– Everett and a three-piece band that hit the stage in downtown Lawrence at Liberty Hall.
The evening began with Austin Antoine, a performance artist who blends his music, poetry, and theater. to interact and improvise with the audience for some Common-level ad-lib verse, composed on the spot.
He's done some acting and his latest EP is called The Rest is History, a follow-up to previous EP TRDMRK which he worked on with Jurassic 5 turntablist DJ Nu-Mark (Mark Potsic) and former Pharcyde member Slimkid3 (Tre Hardson). From audience suggestions, he was able to freestyle a rap that included Tech N9ne, local places to eat, and area points of interest, and preached the power of positivity and keeping your dreams in mind always.
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After a brief break, Eels emerged for their two-hour set, amidst an arctic setting backdrop, with the foursome on icefloe-like platforms, all nattily dressed in suits and bowties, with Everett's beard looking more fuller and fluffier than ever (like Letterman's little brother, although E had the beard before Dave).
Finally able to play live again, the four-piece is out on their Hurricane Lockdown Tour, in support of their “Extreme Witchcraft” album, released last year, and the band also has limited-edition vinyl reissues of their earlier records, Hombre Lobo, End Times, and Tomorrow Morning through E Works/[PIAS].
A few choice (and somewhat deep) covers were peppered into what was mostly a set full of Eels music, with the running joke throughout being that the band was forced to wear smart watches and there would be a flashing message on-screen when each band member achieved their required level of activity for the day, which elicited cheers.
A series of more mellow songs would usually be followed by a stomper like 2001's "Dog Faced Boy" and Everett made good fun of comparing his newer music to the older songs and band drummer Joe was mock chastised for randomly snacking, and Face Timing with his daughter during the show, Father's Day or not.
Everett expressed his love and familiarity with Lawrence, having played the town numerous times over the last twenty-five years, even deciding he was so familiar with the town, he was calling it "Larry" from now on (according to the tour archive page, the band has never played KC, can that be right!?).
People danced in the aisles, sang louder than maybe they should have (given their limited pitch), and generally had as good a time as the band seemed to have, with the night capping with a powerful version of 2013's "Wonderful, Glorious" and the Argent cover of "God Gave Rock and Roll to You" (done more like the Kiss sequel?) in which opener Antoine jumped back on stage to freestyle over those somewhat cheesy '70's original lyrics.
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The coolest band in the popular MCU (aka the Marvel Comics film Universe– they had a cameo in “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”), they finally overcome pandemic delays and forced re-scheduling to embark on their Spring Tour, which started in March and runs through the end of the month.
The brainchild of leader Mark Oliver Everett, the band released their “Extreme Witchcraft” album last year and also has limited-edition vinyl reissues of their earlier records, Hombre Lobo, End Times, and Tomorrow Morning through E Works/[PIAS]. Plus, they brought Journey’s Steve Perry back from seclusion. We've caught the band live several times, including in 2018 at First Ave in Minneapolis.
EELS have had one of the most consistently acclaimed careers in music. The ever-changing project of principal singer-songwriter E (Mark Oliver Everett), EELS have released 14 studio albums since their 1996 debut, Beautiful Freak. In 2008, E published his highly acclaimed book Things the Grandchildren Should Know and starred in the award-winning Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives documentary about the search to understand his quantum physicist father, Hugh Everett III.
2015 saw the release of the band’s extraordinary Royal Albert Hall live album and concert film. In the same year, the band’s “Fresh Blood” served as the theme song to HBO’s The Jinx and from 2016 to 2018 E appeared in Judd Apatow’s Netflix original series, Love. EELS released their 12th studio album, The Deconstruction, in April 2018 and toured America and Europe in 2018 and 2019.
EELS’ thirteenth studio album, Earth To Dora, was recorded at the EELS’ Los Feliz, California studio. Produced by E and performed by E, Koool G Murder, The Chet, and P-Boo, the album received extensive critical praise, and was described as “their sweetest natured album ever” by The Independent.
Austin Antoine is set to open.
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