by El Topo

Despite appearing two hours late and suffering from constant technical problems, the Eels managed to put on an excellent show Saturday night. The performance touched on all five of their albums, including great versions of Grace Kelly Blues, Novocain For The Soul, Souljacker Pt. I, Cancer For The Cure, and Rock Hard Times.

E and Company paid no attention to their setlist (see below), seemingly content to play whatever they were in the mood for. It was a personal disappointment for me that they skipped L.A. River, but they more than made up for it by pulling three encores out of their hat. It's a cliché, sure, but it's more the crowd didn't seem to mind one bit, and neither did I.

Other highlights of the set included a vamped-up version of My Beloved Monster, Love Of The Loveless, Dog Faced Boy, the boisterous Mr. E's Beautiful Blues, a Last Stop: This Town that was stripped down to bare bones, and the gut-wrenching Agony with E trading his guitar for saddest, most beat-up looking mellotron I've ever seen.

After two hours on stage, the house lights went up, and a piercing, old recording of the Star Spangled Banner drove most of the crowd from the floor. Those too drunk or too desperate to leave hung near the stage until a roadie came out and announced "Ladies and gentlemen, the Eels have left the building... Not really, here they are..."

The Eels returned to stage one last time and played three more songs for the somewhat diminished crowd, a set that included a cover of the Willie Nelson classic Whiskey River.

After the show, the band stood out in the alley behind the theater, signing autographs, shaking hands and making amicable conversation with their fans. Though, E showed his continued aversion to flash-photography by refusing all request to have his picture taken, saying "It's like that old Indian thing where you'll steal my soul."

"Souljacker can't get my soul..."