U.S.A. and EUROPE 2008
January and February are two of the busiest months in years. EELS-wise that is. E on the telly, E in London, E in bookstores around the globe, EELS in Santa Ana, and two lovely sets of music at your local entertainment supplier. Not since 2003 has there been so much EELS at once, but we must not forget that we haven't heard any new EELS albums since 2005. It's been a long time and this will just get us through the wait for new music.
| 01/15/2008 | MEET THE EELS | released in the U.S.A. | - |
| 01/15/2008 | USELESS TRINKETS | released in the U.S.A. | - |
| 01/17/2008 | THINGS THE GRANDCHILDREN SHOULD KNOW | book released in Europe | - |
| 01/17/2008 | London, UK | St. James's Church | setlist/more |
| 01/00/2008 | London, UK | BBC Radio 1 - Colin Murray Show | setlist |
| 01/21/2008 | MEET THE EELS | released in Europe/Worldwide | - |
| 01/21/2008 | USELESS TRINKETS | released in Europe/Worldwide | - |
| 02/11/2008 | Los Angeles, CA | Indie 103.1 Radio | setlist/more |
| 02/14/2008 | Santa Ana, CA | Galaxy Theatre | setlist/more |
| 02/14/2008 | LIVE AND IN PERSON! | cd/dvd release | - |
EUROPE 2008
To support everything EELS on the market, some sort of 'greatest hits and rarities' tour is booked through Europe. Starting with the 2007 BBC documentary about E and his father, continuing with an intimate experience during which E and The Chet play songs from the entire EELS catalogue, with some book readings from THINGS THE GRANDCHILDREN SHOULD KNOW, fan mail readings and concert reviews thrown in. The show starts with a dark voice telling E that 'this is his life', but apart from the mentioned book readings there isn't much of a chronological story that is told. In the United Kingdom E invited queen Elizabeth to come see the show in London. She attended the Royal Festival Hall gig... sort of...
| 02/18/2008 | Paris, FRA | Le Bataclan | setlist |
| 02/19/2008 | Cologne, GER | Theater am Tanzbrunnen | setlist/more |
| 02/20/2008 | Berlin, GER | Volksbuhne | setlist/more |
| 02/21/2008 | Hamburg, GER | Kampnagel | setlist/more |
| 02/23/2008 | Copenhagen, DK | The Royal Theatre | setlist |
| 02/25/2008 | London, UK | Royal Festival Hall | setlist |
| 02/26/2008 | Birmingham, UK | Town Hall | setlist/more |
| 02/27/2008 | Manchester, UK | Bridgewater Hall | setlist |
| 02/28/2008 | Glasgow, UK | Royal Concert Hall | setlist |
| 03/01/2008 | Gateshead, UK | Sage | setlist |
| 03/01/2008 | THINGS THE GRANDCHILDREN SHOULD KNOW | book released in Australia | - |
| 03/02/2008 | Brighton, UK | Dome | setlist |
| 03/03/2008 | Groningen, NL | Oosterpoort | ticket |
| 03/04/2008 | Brussels, BE | Cirque Royale | setlist/more |
| 03/06/2008 | Zurich, CH | Spirgarten | setlist/more |
| 03/07/2008 | Milan, IT | Conservatorie Sala Verdi | setlist |
| 03/08/2008 | Rome, IT | Auditorium | - |
| 03/09/2008 | Vincenza, IT | Max Live | - |
| 03/10/2008 | Vienna, AU | Wuk | ticket |
| 03/11/2008 | Munich, GER | Muffathalle | setlist/more |
| 03/13/2008 | Utrecht, NL | Cross-Linx @ Vredenburg Leidscherijn | setlist/more |
| 03/14/2008 | Enschede, NL | Cross-Linx @ Muziekcentrum Enschede | info |
| 03/15/2008 | Eindhoven, NL | Cross-Linx @ Muziekcentrum Philips | setlist/more |
| 03/17/2008 | Dublin, IRE | Vicar Street | setlist |
| 03/18/2008 | Dublin, IRE | Vicar Street | - |
| 03/19/2008 | Belfast, IRE | Belfast Mandela Hall | setlist |
| 03/21/2008 | York, UK | Opera House | setlist/more |
| 03/22/2008 | Sheffield, UK | City Hall | setlist |
| 03/23/2008 | Oxford, UK | New Theatre | setlist |
| 03/24/2008 | Cambridge, UK | Corn Exchange | setlist |
| 03/25/2008 | Paris, FRA | La Cigale | setlist |
U.S.A. and CANADA 2008
The tour continues almost immediately after the trek through Europe. The show has not changed much. Although the venues vary widely. In New York the concerts are played in front of a room full of tables (and eating people), while in Washington the EELS had to play on some sort of a balcony and the show in New Haven is cancelled because the New Haven city council has deemed the 180 year old venue unsuitable to accommodate a concert. Even if it's 'soft rock' like the EELS. Like the invitation of the British queen Elizabeth to come see a show in London, E invited president George W. Bush to attend the concert in Washington. Mr. President had other commitments and could not make it.
| 03/28/2008 | Philadelphia, PA | First Unitarian Church | - |
| 03/29/2008 | Washington, DC | Sixth & I Historic Synagogue | setlist/more |
03/30/2008 | New Haven, CT | Center Church On The Green | cancelled |
| 03/31/2008 | Boston, MA | Somerville Theatre | setlist |
| 04/01/2008 | New York City, NY | Highline Ballroom | setlist |
| 04/02/2008 | New York City, NY | Highline Ballroom | setlist |
| 04/04/2008 | Toronto, ONT | The Mod Club | setlist |
| 04/05/2008 | Detroit, MI | Majestic Theatre | - |
| 04/06/2008 | Chicago, IL | Park West | - |
| 04/07/2008 | St. Paul, MN | The Current Studio | setlist/ more |
| 04/07/2008 | Minneapolis, MN | Pantages Theatre | - |
| 04/09/2008 | Boulder, CO | Fox Theatre | - |
| 04/11/2008 | Seattle, WA | Showbox Theatre | - |
| 04/13/2008 | Portland, OR | Wonder Ballroom | - |
| 04/14/2008 | San Francisco, CA | Palace Of Fine Arts | setlist |
| 04/15/2008 | Santa Monica, CA | KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic | setlist/audio |
| 04/16/2008 | Los Angeles, CA | El Rey Theatre | - |
| 04/17/2008 | Los Angeles, CA | El Rey Theatre | - |
AUSTRALIA 2008
It seems E and The Chet just can't get enough of performing. Three more shows to finish off the tour. Down under this time:
| 04/24/2008 | Brisbane, AU | The Tivoli | setlist |
| 04/26/2008 | Melbourne, AU | Palais Theatre | setlist |
| 04/27/2008 | Sydney, AU | Enmore Theatre | setlist |
U.S.A. 2008
On April 30th, 2008, the official EELS website wrote: "50 shows later, the EELS 2008 world tour made its final stop for a raucous and moving final performance in Sydney, Australia Sunday night. The EELS would like to thank everyone in America, the UK, Europe, and Australia for making the 2008 tour such a memorable one, garnering rave reviews around the globe." And what a lovely tour it was indeed. One would figure that E would take it easy after such an intensive trek across the globe. But he popped up on various events shortly after, playing songs at the Largo, discussing his fathers work on a science festival and signing advance copies of the U.S. release of the THINGS THE GRANDCHILDREN SHOULD KNOW book at a giant book expo, going somewhat unnoticed with celebs such as Alec Baldwin, Magic Johnson and Brooke Shields also signing their books at the same time...
| 05/02/2008 | Los Angeles, CA | The Largo | - |
| 05/29/2008 | New York City, NY | World Science Festival | - |
| 05/31/2008 | Los Angeles, CA | Book Expo America | - |
| 07/13/2008 | Beverly Hills, CA | Television Critics Association Press Tour | - |
MRS. MILLER DOES HER THING 2008
Technically not a concert tour. But it's an 'on stage experience' and E was involved (although not physically present). So we kinda have to mention it. On August 10th, 2008, the official EELS website announced the following: "EELS leader Mark Oliver Everett has created a play with Obie, Tony, and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright James Lapine. MRS. MILLER DOES HER THING, written and directed by Lapine, [...], was co-created by Everett and Lapine and based loosely on real-life singer Elva Miller, played by Debra Monk. The play makes its premiere run Sept. 18th through Oct. 4th at The Vineyard Playhouse on Martha's Vineyard." Everybody missed this, but E seems to have been working on this with Lapine since 2005. And as regular concert visitors might have noticed, the - ahem - music of Mrs. Miller has been playing before and after EELS shows quite often. Here are the dates:
| 09/18/2008 | Vineyard Haven, MA | The Vineyard Playhouse | preview |
| 09/19/2008 | Vineyard Haven, MA | The Vineyard Playhouse | preview |
| 09/20/2008 | Vineyard Haven, MA | The Vineyard Playhouse | premiere |
| 09/23/2008 | Vineyard Haven, MA | The Vineyard Playhouse | - |
| 09/24/2008 | Vineyard Haven, MA | The Vineyard Playhouse | - |
| 09/25/2008 | Vineyard Haven, MA | The Vineyard Playhouse | - |
| 09/26/2008 | Vineyard Haven, MA | The Vineyard Playhouse | - |
| 09/27/2008 | Vineyard Haven, MA | The Vineyard Playhouse | - |
| 09/30/2008 | Vineyard Haven, MA | The Vineyard Playhouse | - |
| 10/01/2008 | Vineyard Haven, MA | The Vineyard Playhouse | - |
| 10/02/2008 | Vineyard Haven, MA | The Vineyard Playhouse | matinee |
| 10/02/2008 | Vineyard Haven, MA | The Vineyard Playhouse | - |
| 10/03/2008 | Vineyard Haven, MA | The Vineyard Playhouse | - |
| 10/04/2008 | Vineyard Haven, MA | The Vineyard Playhouse | - |
U.S.A. 2008
While rumours about a new EELS album are buzzing through the fan community, one would almost forget that there are other events that are noteworthy. The U.S. release of Mr. E's acclaimed book for instance. And finally, an American broadcast of the documentary that premiered on BBC4 albost a year earlier. Other than that, apart from a show with Pete Townshend and friends, the BLINKING LIGHTS AND OTHER REVELATIONS vinyl release and the YES MAN soundtrack release, things remain nice and quiet on the EELS front for the rest of the year...
| 10/14/2008 | THINGS THE GRANDCHILDREN SHOULD KNOW | book released in the U.S. | - |
| 10/15/2008 | Enicno, CA | Barnes & Noble (book signing) | - |
| 10/17/2008 | Los Feliz, CA | Skylight Books (book signing) | - |
| 10/21/2008 | PARALLEL WORLDS, PARALLEL LIVES | U.S. tv premiere at PBS | - |
| 10/21/2008 | BLINKING LIGHTS AND OTHER REVELATIONS | limited vinyl box set released | - |
| 10/17/2008 | West Hollywood, CA | Book Soup (book signing) | - |
| 11/09/2008 | THINGS THE GRANDCHILDREN SHOULD KNOW | audiobook released in the U.S. | - |
| 11/07/2008 | Los Angeles, CA | Troubadour | setlist |
| 12/16/2008 | YES MAN | original soundtrack released | - |
