Previously Unreleased

When Gnarls Barkley and the members of their back up band took the stage earlier tonight at the Highline Ballroom dressed to the nines in what looked like a scene out of “Back to the Future” complete with crisp white and blue tuxedos and Cee-Lo sporting a slick pompadour wig, I’m sure some of the assembled crowd were scratching their heads but after a song or two they probably realized what anyone who has listened to the duo’s latest offering “The Odd Couple” has discovered, so much more than the costumes they are about making great music.

From the moment Cee-Lo took the mic, he transformed into the “Soul Machine” with his voice slicing through the Danger Mouse arrangements at a surprisingly powerful level. The band struggled at first to match his intensity on the offerings from the new album but once they broke out the Violent Femmes cover and crowd favorite “Gone Daddy Gone” they found their groove and the show was about to truly take off and not look back.

Mixing strong new offerings like “Run”, “Who Will Save My Soul” and “Going On” with “Just a Thought”, “Boogie Monster” and their megahit “Crazy” (which Cee-Lo introduced as “the song that brought me all my fame and riches” with all the excitement of a man waiting to get a root canal) from their debut “St.Elsewhere”, Gnarls kept the crowd on it’s toes throughout the performance. Even though this show was the band’s first since the release of “The Odd Couple” it didn’t ram the new songs down the crowd’s throat but actually played a pretty balanced set which was much appreciated by those who might not have had a chance to truly appreciate the recent release.

After a quick retreat backstage so Cee-lo could remove his tux and his increasingly Don King-like wig, Gnarls returned to entertain the crowd with the infectious british invasion infused jam “Blind Mary” before finishing off the evening with the high energy “Smiley Faces”. A song which was the perfect end to a very good show and one in which Cee-Lo showed much more enthusiasm in his delivery than he had earlier while performing “Crazy”.

Having seen Gnarls perform before, I expected a good show going in but was truly surprised by Cee-Lo and his voice. Where last time it seemed to be an accompaniment to the music, this time his vocal was the main attraction and it more than lived up to, if not surpassed the billing. I would definitely recommend catching Gnarls on tour later this summer should you get the opportunity.

Photos: Jason Bergman @ Brooklyn Vegan