Eels
1997-04-30Shepherds Bush Empire
That ticket might say 8.50 but it lies. Me and Simon were so briliantly organised that we didn't even know that this gig was happening until that morning and we decided we had to go. Not only were The Eels playing but they were being supported by the up and coming Embrace and most importantly by Teenage Fanclub.
So we got to the station in Shephards Bush looking for a tout with our cash at the ready. Now usually I wouldn't even piss on a tout if they were on fire let alone give them money but needs must. When this guy told me that he wanted 25 a ticket I must have gone white as a ghost because he did something touts never do: he offered us a discount. Since we would both buy tickets from him he offered us one quid off each.
So we got inside the venue after panicing that we may have been sold fakes and downed a few beers to mourn our recent loss of cash. While doing so we pay as little attention to Embrace as it is possible to do, not even thinking that these guys as one third of the entertainment have cost us eight quid alone. To be fair they sounded alright and I did check out their singles when they came out.
Thankfully Teenage Fanclub were absolutely great and the two tracks they previewed from their upcoming album sounded better than anything else they played. Maybe one day they'll get some recognition.
I quite like the Eels in a grudging kind of way because while they write good music, the lead singer sounds kind of whiney after a while. On stage the leader of the band, E, did nothing to endear anyone to him as he spent most of his time on stage hiding behind musical devices. So while they were quite good musically they had all the warmth and personality of a ticket tout.