We've been avoiding the Eels-Steve Perry lovefest up to now, because you know, Journey. But this one's too good to pass up.

At last night's show in Amsterdam, Eels covered Journey's best and best-known song, 'Don't Stop Believin'.' And while Journey's erstwhile frontman didn't join Mark Oliver Everett and group onstage, their stripped-down cover of the 1981 classic was pretty good.

You can watch it above.

Since 1998, Perry has been mostly MIA from music. He was forced to retire from a Journey reunion tour after a hip replacement sidelined him. Last year, he successfully went through surgery to remove cancer cells.

A month ago, he returned to the stage after almost 20 years at, somewhat surprisingly, an Eels concert, where he joined the band during its encores, including two Journey songs. He's since joined them for two other shows. Turns out Perry and Everett have been friends for years.

Eels performed in Amsterdam last night and played an acoustic version of 'Don't Stop Believin'' that erased the song's anthem-like lift and replaced it with bare desolation that pretty much knocks out all hope from the chorus. We may prefer it this way.

Here's a clip from one of Perry's appearances with Eels from a few weeks ago in which they cover an Eels song, as well as a couple by Journey:

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