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After a bizarre act by a ventriloquist (nobody quite knows who he is or why he is opening for Eels), Laura Imbruglia takes the stage armed with an acoustic guitar and a solid voice. Her simple, yet charming songs lend themselves well to intimate performances but tonight her solitary presence tends to get lost in the expanse of the Tivoli. Others have remarked on the uniqueness of her voice but to this reviewer she is reminiscent of another female acoustic singer-songwriter that I can’t quite put my finger on…and that just about sums it all up. Imbruglia is a strong singer, guitarist and songwriter but needs that extra something, be it a backing band, varied repertoire or quirky humour, to really set her apart.

Mark Oliver Everett, otherwise known as E, is welcomed onstage sporting a guitar, sunglasses and his trademark werewolf beard. He plays a few songs on his own, including Daisies Of The Galaxy and End Times, before the familiar chord and call at the beginning of Prizefighter summons the rest of Eels onstage. To the crowd’s delight, the other band members also have matching sunglasses and beards. The effect is comical and at times the beardy, sunglassed group can almost be mistaken for a real-person version of the Muppets Band.

The band’s set is obviously designed for a Northern Hemisphere summer tour; E tells us to forget about winter and celebrate summer before launching into a cover of The Lovin’ Spoonful’s Summer In The City. Upbeat and riff-heavy songs like Tremendous Dynamite and Souljacker fit in perfectly with this vibe, whilst other songs are given a stylistic makeover, including a funked up version of My Beloved Monster, a rocked up version of Dog Faced Boy and a punked up version of I Like Birds. However, the highlight of the night is by far Mr E’s Beautiful Blues, played flawlessly to the tune of The Beatles’ Twist and Shout.

While the uplifting energy of the set is thoroughly enjoyable, their set lacks the delicate, intimate moments that you know Eels are capable of. In My Dreams and That Look You Give That Guy are two heartbreakingly beautiful tracks from Hombre Lobo, however, tonight they are performed in an upbeat way that glosses over the fragility of the songs. Nevertheless, it’s good to see E back onstage enjoying himself.

In keeping with the summer theme, Eels perform a latin salsa cover of Gershwin’s Summertime. They end the set with Looking Up from their upcoming release Tomorrow Morning – the gospel call-and-response of this song makes the band seem more muppety than ever. The band go offstage before the crowd calls them back to perform two separate encores of I’m Going To Stop Pretending That I Didn’t Break Your Heart, featuring a mournful guitar solo, and From Which I Came / A Magic World.