Early in the Eels’ show at the 930 Club Friday night, the band dove into a slinky version of Missy Elliott’s great “Get Ur Freak On”, which made sense: Elliot is Miss E, the Eels are led by a man called E (born in DC’s suburbs as Mark Everett) and the band’s breakthrough album was titled “Beautiful Freak”. That kind of congruous mischief, plus a catchy beats and deceptively simple pop hooks, is what the Eels are all about.
Drawing primarily from the recently released “Souljacker”, E and sidekick/drummer Butch conjured a guitar-dominated set that was in stark contrast to their last tour as the horn-dominated Eels Orchestra. “Souljacker, Pt. 1”, “That’s Not Really Funny” and “Not Ready Yet” all surged with a heavier feel (guitarist Joe Gore played inventively throughout) than the Eels have previously exhibited, while the new “Agony” bore a John Lennon-blues signature and “Dog Faced Boy” (“Mama won’t shave me/Jesus can’t save me”) swerved like classic T. Rex.
Ultimately, E’s singular personality, projected through his singular, vignetted songwriting---if T. Coraghessan Boyle was in a rock band, it would be the Eels---was the evening’s dominant strain. Tunes like “I Like Birds”, “Elizabeth on the Bathroom Floor”, a couple songs with titles not printable in a family newspaper (E has a nice touch with a swear word) and “Mr. E’s Beautiful Blues” shone. After an hour-plus set, the group delivered a plethora of encores, including Butch’s star turn on something called “Sad Clown”, that should have satisfied the hunger of even the most ardent Eels devotee. And pretty much everyone else within earshot.
Washington Post, 2002
