Gnarls Barkley and Santogold at Highline Ballroom

Image Source: Chris Laputt

Damn, those two know how to put on a show. Santogold (aka Santi White) came out with a ton of energy, her DJ, and two badass dancers. She didn’t appear to be lip synching (something she was accused of at SXSW) at all, but there definitely was a backing track at some points. She even played a new song with tambourines that was great.

Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse were joined by a full backing band in full fifties-style suits, with Cee-Lo rocking a pompadour wig. Pretty sweet. Cee-Lo is an amazing performer and has a great voice. He had some great one-liners and kept encouraging the audience to go nuts and have fun. For what was, as Cee-Lo put it, essentially “an overpaid dress rehearsal” as this was the first show Gnarls Barkley played after their new album Odd Couple came out a few days ago, it was a great show. The new stuff is very smooth, the old stuff is obviously great, and they played a good mix of both.