Resurfacing after a brutal year of personal loss, The Eels [ tickets ] hit a home run at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles this past Friday (2/12). Showcasing material from their critically-acclaimed, but Soundscan-stalled album Electro-Shock Blues, the band cemented their reputation for live magic with an almost 90 minute set.

Drawing mainly from a record that deals with loss and death, the evening was surprisingly upbeat. Front man E's sense of humor and stage presence is always remarkably keen. Even his appearance, bearded in a three piece suit with hat and pipe was more Rene Magritte painting than rock star. A tongue-in-cheek flashing applause sign also helped to cue the audience out of respectful silence during some of the more personal numbers of the evening.

While only a three piece, The Eels live show has a rich fullness and music-box like clarity. In fact, many of their songs sound better live than on record. The emotional connection to the material seems even greater when witnessing the words travel directly from E's lips. Live, songs like Climbing To The Moon and Electro-shock Blues exhibit tenderness and vulnerability rarely seen in pop music. Even the more upbeat songs from the new record, like Cancer For The Cure and Last Stop This Town work especially well because of their surreal happiness.

Also represented were a handful of tracks from the groups amazing debut album, Beautiful Freak. Most notable were the title track, which incorporated a wonderfully funny snippet of the classic My Girl and a reworked flamenco like version of Novocaine For The Soul. Unlike past tours, E relied more on guitar than keyboard for the majority of the evening.

In spite of all the recent turmoil, The Eels can put on a heck of a show. Each round of touring has helped strengthen their live voice and quirky arrangements. If the industry heavy crowd was any indication, many people expect big things from this band. Most of all the fans, who were clearly thrilled with the evening.