Gnarls Barkley at the Scottrade Center

Seeing Gnarls Barkley on the bill with the Red Hot Chili Peppers for their St. Louis date was just the nudge I needed to buy a ticket. While I wouldn’t classify St. Elsewhere as a solid favorite of mine, I like several of the songs and was very curious to see how they would translate live. K had mentioned before the show that Gnarls Barkley always wear a costume that corresponds with a cover from their set. The band, complete with a string section and backup singers, came on stage in flight suits and Cee-Lo made Space Oddity his own. Cee-Lo’s voice live is no less rich or full as it is on the record. I would say that it was even enhanced by the outstanding backup singers. Everyone in the band seemed to be totally into the performance, feeling the music in different ways like the guitarist’s aerial splits and the string section’s dance routines. Before launching into St. Elsewhere, Cee-Lo mentioned to the audience that he was from Atlanta, Georgia. He then said, “It’s not where you’re from but where you are”. Amen. Last night, in a city again plagued by power outages and 10 degree temperatures, I was unbelievably glad to be where I was. –J

Gnarls Barkley's Setlist

Space Oddity
Go-Go Gadget Gospel
Who Cares?
The Boogie Monster
Just a Thought
St. Elsewhere
Gone Daddy Gone
Feng Shui
Crazy
Smiley Faces

Saturday Evening Thoughts

This morning as I was driving through my neighborhood, one of my neighbors was standing over his lawnmower looking a tad bit hung over. As I passed I noticed the back of his shirt read in large bold letters: 100% PURE WHOOP ASS.

You read it here first! Judakris predicted that Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy would be the song of summer 2006. This was confirmed by the fact that not one, not two, but three other musical acts covered the song at Lollapalooza. We were really impressed with The Raconteurs’ version. They also covered Bang Bang (My Lover Shot Me Down) which was awesome. I love now that Jack White lives in Nashville he has a Southern accent. Last year when he was promoting Get Behind Me Satan, he sounded like Katherine Hepburn or Cary Grant with one of those weird Continental accents that you just can’t quite place. Jack, if you're reading, I kid because I love! I’m hoping The Raconteurs will head to STL for a show sometime in the future.

Is anyone watching RockStar: Supernova? It’s like a car crash. I find myself watching every week just to see how ridiculous the performances will be and how often Tommy Lee will tell someone they’re “dope”. The part that amazes me the most is from watching the show I have gathered that the performers have a lot of control over the arrangement of the song they are singing. They have very capable musicians backing them every week, but things sound like crap. Do they mean to make everything sound like muzak? Is it in hopes of pulling in American Idol viewing numbers? Okay, and do we honestly think these guys will pick a woman to front their band? It’s not that I think they are sexist, I just don’t think it would work in this case. The only one that has a chance is Dilana and I really can’t stand her voice. I could go on and on dissecting the performances from this week which ranged from boring to silly but I won’t. Sorry to be so acidic, but it’s been one of those weeks at work where you want to come home and crawl into a fetal position. Maybe I just need to focus my energies towards being 100% PURE WHOOP ASS. --J