EELS + Smoosh @ Le National

By Mikey B - The Lonesome Strangers - 06/16/2006

This show was pretty much everything I wanted.

After having missed the Eels play on Halloween a few years back, I was determined to not let another one of their performances pass me by. They last toured Montreal to promote their then-newly released Shootenanny album in 2003. Then in 2005, the magnificent double-album Blinking Lights and Other Revelations spawned an enormous touring itinerary shortly after its release. The tour was dubbed “Eels with Strings”, a live show that promised exactly what was assumed: The Eels with a seven-piece band consisting of a string quartet, multi-instrumentalists, pump organ… a saw… trashcan/suitcase drumsets… and way too many other instruments to even mention.

Beautiful, inspiring storytelling and starry-eyed melodies, all set to the laid-back tune of E’s acoustic guitar. As an organic show in its entirety, the 2005 tour fit the exact aura of what Blinking Lights was all about. (How do I know? Well, I saw the Eels With Strings live DVD)

Now, flash forward to 2006: The Eels – NO STRINGS ATTACHED TOUR.

One would make the obvious assumption that after having toured endlessly for an emotionally draining album like Blinking Lights, the Eels just wanted to get back to the basics of having fun and rockin’ out. This is exactly what went down on that sweltering night in mid-June. Back as a three-piece -- sorta -- the boys came out all dressed in matching full-body cargo gear, something that didn’t make much sense at the time.

• There was a frontman named E wearing giant 1930’s aviator goggles.
• A man called The Chet
• A bearded drummer wearing a spiked helmet
• And best of all, a giant man named Big Al wearing a shirt that said “Security” in big bold letters

Big Al was first on the stage, as he stood there for much of the show, cross-armed and looking like actual security. When he wasn’t just standing around, posing as a security guard, he’d be doing strange interpretive martial arts, lifting weights and pulling out hilarious dance moves while the rest of the boys rocked the audience’s socks off. With two men on electric guitars and one man on drums, the Eels played a huge, fully-loaded set of new and old classic tracks, peppered with B-sides and covers (such as Tom Waits' “Jesus Gonna Be Here” and Peaches’ “Rock Show”). Although the pulse running through much of their latest LP Blinking Lights was a slower, more beautiful one, this show was more of a full-on Eels showcase than it was promotion for a new CD.

As opposed to playing both sides of their fine bi-polar catalogue, E and the gang stuck with more of the upbeat pieces as opposed to the sad songs that many of his albums finish with. Pieces like “Souljacker Pt.1” and “Rags To Rags” made the audience leap up and down, while melancholic acoustic gems like “Railroad Man” would have the hair on your arm stand.

To keep things interesting, the Eels would reverse the tempo of favorites like “My Beloved Monster” and “Last Stop, This Town”, making the former into a rockabilly toe-tapper, and the latter into a sentimental ballad. It’s during these truly unique moments where fans can truly appreciate the live experience as opposed to the same studio tracks that’ve been playing on their fancy new iPods. Putting a rock show together is an art, one that the Eels have mastered throughout the years.

Instead of the usual banter heard at live shows, most of the “interaction” was done via “Big Al” the lonesome security guard. After nearly every second song, a spotlight would shine down on him, as he would then go up to his microphone and say the most strangest things, like “you all have fantastic rhythm”. It would be said as if he were a Buddhist monk reading a fortune cookie. His dry sense of humor fit in perfectly with this crowd composed of mainly aging 1990’s alt-rock kids.

For the encore, there was “Mr.E’s Beautiful Blues” as well as the overwhelming fan favorite “Birds”. Afterwards, “Cancer For The Cure” was played with the help from the fantastic opening duo Smoosh, two sisters aged 12 & 14 that received an amazing reaction from the crowd as openers. Signed to Barsuk Records, they’re starting to garner a good following with their simple, catchy songs played on keyboard & drums. One would consider them as a bit of an oddball opening act for a band like the Eels; nonetheless, they fit in perfectly. Just think of what the future has in store for them, and who will open for them ten years from now.

What was even more amazing was that once the lights were on and most of the people had left, the band came back onstage (as they usually do) and rewarded fans who stayed behind with a rousing version of “Saturday Morning”. I guess it made perfect sense, seeing as it was about Friday midnight.

It’s a shame the show was scheduled on the same night the Arctic Monkeys were in town, as many indie scenesters opted to see them instead. The question of which show to see was a no-brainer for most people who liked both bands: either see the Eels, one of alt-rock’s finest, most diverse bands who’ve been around for 10+ years and who’ve put out more than six distinctive albums to date, OR see a great new band, who had played Montreal three months earlier and put out one LP.

You know who I chose.

[Tune in to the multi-award winning The Lonesome Strangers every Wednesday from 3pm to 5pm. We'll see you at the Slammy awards.]