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A sold-out crowed hurried into the arena to get a glimpse the flash-in-the-pan du jour, Gnarls Barkley. The overwhelmingly high-school aged crowd flipped their emo haircuts out of their eyes and begged that one friend with his older brother's old ID to give them "just one sip of beer, bro." Alliteration aside, most of the audience could not have cared less about Gnarls, and the shame is… it showed.
The 20-40 year olds that comprised the rest of the audience seemed to have a somewhat better appreciation of the opener's soulful set. Yet, they were noticeably taken aback when the band came out dressed as the cast of Austin Power's, with Cee-Lo starring as Dr. Evil and Danger Mouse as the International Man of Mystery himself. They even came out to "Soul Bossa Nova", the delightfully annoying theme to the film.
Even though Cee-Lo Green, the hefty lead singer, could fill up half of the arena himself (with his on-stage energy… of course), their sound wasn't quite cut out for a venue the size of the Verizon Center. This is a problem that nearly every band struggles with, and it's not necessarily a bad thing. Rather, it meant that they needed to work twice as hard to capture the audience.
And work they did. The poured pure energy and soul into their microphones, only to be met with blank stares. Attendees gazed back at the band as if they were dressed as the cast of Austin Powers or something. Oh… wait…
As the bass drum began to kick and Cee-Lo announced that they were going to perform "the only reason he's rich and famous," the dormant crowd began to stir. Doctor, come quick! I think we've found a pulse! But even the energy defibrillator that is the Top-40 smash "Crazy" couldn't save the audience from their paralysis. Their decision to not play their meal-ticket song as the last number seemed to be a little "up yours" to the crowd, as if to say "we're more than you give us credit for." Unfortunately, at that point all the high-schoolers in attendance were already texting their friends to make after show plans at the McDonald's across the street.
