Never one to tour the same show twice, each time Eels mainman Mark 'E' Everett comes to town his band have a different look and sound, and his current UK jaunt is no exception - with the four guitar, one drummer line-up all decked out in identical Adidas tracksuits, beards and sunglasses.
Eels' sound this time round is decidedly heavy, best summed up by E's declaration halfway through the night that he's "pumped with steroids and full of rock."
Playing a set which draws heavily on recent album Wonderful, Glorious, the band crackle with electricity as they stomp, holler and shake their maracas for all they're worth.

While Eels maybe loud however, they are far from aggressive, with E selecting different bandmates between songs and rewarding them with hugs for their efforts, even going so far as to renew his 'rock vows' with longstanding guitarist The Chet following ten years of sterling service.
Covers of Fleetwood Mac's Oh Well and The Small Faces' Itchycoo Park proved unexpected highlights, along with an encore mashup of Mr E’s Beautiful Blues and My Beloved Monster.
Constantly changing, yet consistently brilliant, each version of Eels reflects a different aspect of E's personality and while his more reflective, maudlin side is always welcome, tonight showed it's occasionally good to just let rip and, y'know, rock out.
Set List:
Bombs Away
Kinda Fuzzy
Open My Present
Oh Well
(Fleetwood Mac cover)
Tremendous Dynamite
In My Dreams
On the Ropes
Peach Blossom
Prizefighter
The Turnaround
New Alphabet
Fresh Feeling
The Sound of Fear
Go Knuckles!
Itchycoo Park
(Small Faces cover)
Souljacker, Part I
Wonderful, Glorious
Encore:
I'm Your Brave Little Soldier
My Beloved Monster / Mr. E's Beautiful Blues
Encore 2:
Fresh Blood
Encore 3:
Dog Faced Boy
Go EELS!

'Gavin Cullen ''@mtvuknews'