 | | Gnarls Barkley |
After the success of Crazy, anything could have happened. From download hit to total obscurity or kings of music. But the well-versed skills of being half Goodie Mob member and half big-name producer (Gorillaz being the tip of the musical iceberg), has seen them right. Arriving onstage to Welcome To The Jungle, before belting out most of the album St Elsewhere, we saw a different Gnarls Barkley, not the fierceness of Crazy, but great tunes to jig about to like Gone Daddy Gone and Boogie Monster. Whatever they do they do it well. They also know how to put on a performance, yelling “Give me champagne or I’m not going on with the show.” Thankfully, some was found and the stage full of energetic musicians continued – the string section waving their bows in the air and the backing singers cutting a groove. Sadly, the same energy was not mirrored in the crowd. Inevitably, they were waiting for that signature tune, and the follow-up, Smiley Faces; everything before simply acted as a warm-up to the main act. A good gig let-down by an unenthusiastic crowd, barely a quarter full, leaving me wondering whether the hit of the year is a blessing or a curse. | 
