EUROPE 1997 - Leg 1
Hardly having the thime for a breather, the EELS continue to rock the world and they start 1997 with some small promotional shows in the U.K. and Spain. These will prove to be very important for the EELS' growing popularity in Europe. The BBC session from January 1997 would end up on various official releases later that year.
| 01/27/1997 | Glasgow, UK | King Tuts Wah Wah Hut | - |
| 01/28/1997 | Manchester, UK | Manchester University Union | - |
| 01/29/1997 | London, UK | Garage | - |
| 01/31/1997 | London, UK | TFI Friday | - |
| 01/00/1997 | London, UK | BBC Radio Session | - |
| 02/01/1997 | Madrid, SPA | El Sol | - |
U.S.A. 1997 - Opening for Luscious Jackson
In the U.S.A. the EELS aren't yet 'big' enough to tour on their own. Hence a new tour as a supporting act. This time with the ladies of Luscious Jackson.
| 02/11/1997 | Eugene, OR | WOW Hall | poster |
| 02/12/1997 | Portland, OR | La Luna | poster |
| 02/15/1997 | San Francisco, CA | Bimbo's 365 Club | - |
| 02/16/1997 | Santa Cruz, CA | The Catalyst | - |
| 02/17/1997 | Visalia, CA | LJ Williams Theatre | setlist |
| 02/22/1997 | Santa Ana, CA | Galaxy Theatre | - |
| 02/23/1997 | Los Angeles, CA | Modern Rock Live Radio Show | setlist/more |
| 02/24/1997 | BEAUTIFUL FREAK | released in (parts of) Europe | - |
| 02/25/1997 | Seattle, WA | DV8 club | - |
| 02/27/1997 | Ft.Collins, CO | Starlight | poster |
| 02/28/1997 | Boulder, CO | Fox Theatre | poster |
| 03/01/1997 | Denver, CO | Ogden Theatre | poster |
| 03/04/1997 | Dallas, TX | Deep Ellum | - |
| 03/06/1997 | Houston, TX | Numbers Club | poster |
| 03/13/1997 | Washington, D.C. | 9.30 Club | - |
| 03/25/1997 | Boston, MA | Avalon | poster |
EUROPE 1997 - Leg 2
In the meantime the EELS have become quite popular in Europe and the demand for tickets for their first full blown headlining tour is extremely high. Journalists and tv-programs are lining up to talk to E and the guys and audiences are eager to get their cd's signed. Check out the tour itinerary for this part of the 1997 tour here. The lovely ladies of September 67 provide support thoughout the tour.
| 04/01/1997 | Madrid, SPA | KTDral Club | - |
| 04/02/1997 | Barcelona, SPA | Bikini | - |
| 04/03/1997 | Marseille, FRA | Moulin | posters |
| 04/04/1997 | Paris, FRA | Nulle Part Ailleurs | setlist/more |
| 04/05/1997 | Paris, FRA | L'Olympia | setlist/more |
| 04/07/1997 | Strasbourg, FRA | Laiterie | posters |
| 04/08/1997 | Lyon, FRA | Transbordeur | setlist/more |
| 04/10/1997 | Lille, FRA | Aeronef | posters |
| 04/12/1997 | Amsterdam, NL | Paradiso | setlist/more |
| 04/13/1997 | Cologne, GER | Luxor | - |
| 04/15/1997 | Berlin, GER | Trash | setlist |
| 04/17/1997 | Frankfurt, GER | Batschkapp | setlist |
| 04/19/1997 | Bourges, FRA | Printemps de Bourges | posters |
| 04/20/1997 | Fribourg, CH | Le Fris-Son | setlist |
| 04/22/1997 | Milan, IT | Magazzini Generali | pictures |
| 04/24/1997 | Munich, GER | Strom | - |
| 04/26/1997 | Hamburg, GER | Mojo Club | - |
| 04/27/1997 | Rotterdam, NL | Nighttown | setlist/more |
| 04/28/1997 | Gent, BEL | Vooruit | setlist |
| 04/29/1997 | London, UK | BBC Radio 1 Evening Session | - |
| 04/30/1997 | London, UK | Sheperds Bush Empire | setlist/more |
| 05/02/1997 | Glasgow, UK | Barrowlands | paper ad |
| 05/03/1997 | Nottingham, UK | Rock City | ticket/more |
| 05/04/1997 | Manchester, UK | Academy | paper ad |
| 05/06/1997 | London, UK | Astoria | paper ad |
| 05/07/1997 | London, UK | MTV Studio | setlist/more |
05/07/1997 | Wolverhampton, UK | Wulfun | cancelled |
05/08/1997 | Groningen, NL | Vera | cancelled |
05/08/1997 | London, UK | Channel 4 TV Show | cancelled |
05/09/1997 | Liverpool, UK | Crazy House | cancelled |
05/10/1997 | Sheffield, UK | Leadmill | cancelled |
| 05/10/1997 | Malmo, SWE | KB | - |
05/11/1997 | Glasgow,UK | The Archers | cancelled |
| 05/11/1997 | Oslo, NO | Rockefeller | setlist |
| 05/12/1997 | Copenhagen, DK | Pumpehuset | - |
| 05/16/1997 | Dublin, IRE | Red Box | - |
| 05/18/1997 | Eindhoven, NL | Effenaar | setlist/more |
| 05/19/1997 | Landgraaf, NL | Megaland | setlist/more |
U.S.A. and CANADA 1997 - Lollapalooza and other gigs
The trek on the poorly visited Lollapalooza circus (EELS played the 'small' stage during Lollapalooza 1997) was not such a big success. Check the tour itinerary of these shows here. Apparently E got inspired during one of the Porno For Pyros shows during Lollapalooza. He wrote the song Bird Girl On A Cell Phone as a hommage to Perry Farrell's dancers on the Lollapalooza stage.
| 05/30/1997 | Los Angeles, CA | The Largo | review |
| 06/24/1997 | West Palm Beach, FL | rehearsal day | - |
| 06/25/1997 | West Palm Beach, FL | Coral Sky Amphitheatre | setlist/more |
| 06/27/1997 | Atlanta, GA | Lakewood Amphitheatre | - |
| 06/28/1997 | Charlotte, NC | Blockbuster Pavilion | - |
| 06/29/1997 | Raleigh, NC | Walnut Creek Amphitheatre | - |
| 07/01/1997 | Virginia Beach, VA | Virginia Beach Amphitheater | - |
| 07/02/1997 | Bristow, VA | Nissan Pavilion | - |
| 07/04/1997 | Maple, ONT | Kingswood Music Theatre | - |
| 07/05/1997 | Darien Center, NY | Darien Lake P.A.C. | - |
| 07/08/1997 | Mansfield, MA | Great Woods Center | - |
| 07/11/1997 | New York, NY | Randalls Island | - |
| 07/12/1997 | Camden, NJ | Blockbuster-Sony Center | - |
| 07/13/1997 | Hartford, CT | Meadows Music Theatre | - |
| 07/15/1997 | Clarkston, MI | Pine Knob Music Theatre | - |
| 07/18/1997 | Cuyahoga Falls, OH | Blossom Music Center | - |
| 07/19/1997 | Burgettstown, PA | Star Lake Amphitheatre | - |
| 07/20/1997 | Columbus, OH | Polaris Amphitheater | - |
| 07/21/1997 | New York City, NY | Sony Studio's PBS Sessions | setlist/more |
| 07/22/1997 | New York City, NY | KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic | setlist/more |
EUROPE 1997 - Leg 3
Ten thousands of people flock to see the EELS play at the various summer festivals in Europe. But there is plenty of room for smaller gigs as well. The Beautiful Freak album is re-released in August and is now a 2cd-set, featuring the entire BBC session from January 1997 on the second cd. That session is also on the French deluxe Rags To Rags single, also released in August.
| 08/11/1997 | Stockholm, SWE | Water Festival | setlist |
| 08/14/1997 | St. Malo, FRA | La Route En Rock | setlist |
| 08/15/1997 | Clermont, FRA | Ferrand Free Wheels Festival | - |
| 08/16/1997 | Annecy, FRA | Amplitudes Festival | - |
| 08/18/1997 | Ris-Orangis, FRA | Le Plan | setlist/more |
| 08/19/1997 | Rotterdam, NL | Nighttown | setlist/more |
| 08/20/1997 | Hilversum, NL | Radio 3 Denk Aan Henk | setlist/more |
| 08/20/1997 | Utrecht, NL | Tivoli | setlist/more |
| 08/22/1997 | Hasselt, BEL | Pukkelpop | setlist |
| 08/23/1997 | Reading, UK | Reading Festival | setlist/more |
| 08/24/1997 | Biddinghuizen, NL | Lowlands Festival | setlist/more |
| 08/25/1997 | Nederhorst Den Berg, NL | Bullet Sound Studio | setlist/more |
| 08/26/1997 | Groningen, NL | Oosterpoort | setlist/more |
| 08/28/1997 | Geneva, CH | Le Batie Festival | - |
| 08/30/1997 | Konstanz, GER | Rock Am See | - |
| 08/31/1997 | Bologna, IT | Festa Dell' Unita | - |
| 09/02/1997 | Vienna, AU | Unknown venue | - |
On august 30th 1997 Diana, the Princess of Wales, died in a carcrash in Paris. The tourlaminates that were used during the 1997 Beautiful Freak Tour had her image on them, but altered so that she had eyes like the girl on the Beautiful Freak albumcover. Local crew, guests and VIP's received stickers with the same image on it and the word 'royalty' above it. It is known that Tommy threw his laminate away after the death of Lady Di, but supposedly other people in the band and crew continued to wear them for the remaining of the European tour.
The only new EELS release in 1997 is the song Bad News, that’s on the soundtrack of the Wim Wenders movie The End Of Violence. In September 1997 Tommy quits the band and goes to form his own band, Metromax. Metromax changed the name to Tely and is currently known as Abandoned Pools.
U.S.A. 1997 - final shows
The departure of Tommy is not the end for EELS, although it shocked a lot of fans. E continues, with Butch behind the drums. SOme last gigs were performed to round off a very succesful yet draining year.
| 10/24/1997 | Los Angeles, CA | The Largo | info |
| 12/19/1997 | Los Angeles, CA | The Largo | - |
