Yesterday the popular band Gnarls Barkley visited the VEGA venue in Copenhagen.
I hadn’t really heard too much of the music, but I had of course heard the track “Crazy”, so I didn’t really know what to expect, beside the fact that DJ DangerMouse is involved with the project, and that should, by itself, be a recommendation, since he was involved with some of the most exciting releases of 2005, like the second Gorillaz album and the DangerDoom project.
The band looked like a 70ies funk-band wearing white suits, and the set-up included three backing singers, and a couple of violin and cello players, on top of that two keyboard players, and a traditional set-up with drums, bass and guitar. Interesting indeed.
And it became even stranger, when they announced themselves as another band because Gnarls Barkley couldn’t make it, and opened with a cover of “She blinded me with science”, I doubt that too many in the packed VEGA venue recognised that – the tone was set for something different.
The band was extremely tight, playing a tough kind of traditional 70ies inspired soul and funk sparkled with “strange sounds” and rock riffs.
The singer Cee-Lo has a great traditional soul singer voice, that goes perfect with the music.
The only down point to an otherwise great set, was that it was too short, approximately an hour, but that is understandable since the band has had such a short history.
High points were the live versions of “Gone Daddy Gone” and of course Crazy sent the venue jumping.
The set ended with a sound inferno, where the guitar player really let himself loose.
I left the venue with a big smile on my lip, this had been a great evening. “FUNK TOGET KØRTE”!
Highly recommended.
