Battles/Gnarls Barkley @ Irving Plaza, June 8, 2008
So this was some sort of celebration for MySpace's 150th "Secret Show," a designation I quibble with given that they have a public website, but never mind.
We arrived just after Battles had started their set. For those unfamiliar with the band, their sound is a little bit of doom electro apocalypse anarchy. Honestly, I have no idea how you would even think to write these songs, but they're brilliant. On stage, the intensity on their faces matches the relentless, frantic droning of the guitar and various noises that they're creating. They are also, from the back of the room, visibly sweaty. This is a theme we will be returning to.
When there are vocals, they're fuzzed out beyond recognition, but it doesn't matter, because the sound is just transfixing. I'm sorry I don't know any song titles besides "Atlas" (see video above), so I can't tell you what they played, but I can tell you this music is the stuff of nightmares. Awesome nightmares. The boys are all writhing to the beat.
The way many of the songs seem to work is that they grow out of increasingly structured noodling and self-sampling, working to a frenzy and then dying out. One such song died out into "Atlas" and the room went crazy. (Also, it's at this point I notice that the high hat is up like six feet in the air.) Everyone clapped along, reinforcing the militaristic feel of the song. The demoniacally militaristic feel of the song.
They played another couple of songs after that, but, again, I have no idea what they were. They were awesome.
During the interlude between sets, we learned, if you want to get a room full of people to dance, play this song.
Gnarls after the jump...
While we waited (forever) for the band to take the stage, the room got hotter and hotter. The audience was so ready for Cee-Lo and DM that they applauded even the tuning of guitars.
They start with "Charity Case," from the new album, and from the get-go they sound amazing. Yeah, if you've heard anything by them, you already know, but Cee-Lo has an amazing voice.
The duo is dressed in suits, but Cee-Lo takes off his jacket and tie, commenting on the extreme heat. Danger Mouse sits front and center these days, but still concedes the spotlight to his partner. He's content to sit and twiddle knobs for the bulk of the show.
As the show goes on, they mix it up between the old and the new. "We need your energy to continue," Cee-Lo pleads with the crowd before launching into "Gone Daddy Gone." The audience happily gives it to him. The performance is captivating.
"Run," which is my favorite "Odd Couple" track, is up next. This version is a little looser, but a whole lot darker. In fact, with many of the songs, seeing the pain and emotion in Cee-Lo's face as he sings drives home how dark many of the lyrics are.
The man is pure energy, and has a great connection with the crowd. His between song banter seems a little bit scripted, but it's part of the spectacle. He comments on the heat again, while reassuring the ladies that if they want to take their tops off, that's ok with him. He takes his shirt off and stands before us in his undershirt.
As the band switches back and forth between the old album and the new, you can kind of hear that the new album is more evenly stronger than the debut. Sure, there's no "Crazy" on "Odd Couple," but there's no "Necrophiliac" either. And the live show as a whole has made an impressive improvement.
Cee-Lo dedicates "Going On" to New York City. Again, the song sounds much darker live, and more enthralling as well. I'll tell you, with the heat and the energy coming off the stage, there was a barely suppressed frenzy going on in that room. Danger Mouse, by the way, must have harnessed some of his inherent cool to stay chill; he didn't even remove his jacket.
"It's not that I don't love this song, I just don't want to bore you with it," Cee-Lo says by way of introducing their monster hit, "Crazy." We are obviously not bored as we sing along. Though last time I saw them, this song was the only reason I was there. This time around, it's a nice bonus to an all-around strong showing.
They wrapped it up with "A Little Better," which initially I wrote down was a possible cover because it's just one of those songs that sounds like it always was.
There was an encore, it was good. It was hot, so we booked it out of there without waiting to see if there'd be a second.
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