Live Review: Gnarls Barkley

Live Review: Gnarls Barkley

Haven't heard of Gnarls Barkley? 'Crazy,' their runaway single, is the hottest hit of the summer: Aidin Vaziri | Like all great summer anthems, the rewired Motown grooves of "Crazy" are currently blasting out of every convertible and baseball stadium from here to Reykjavik. Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous" might hold the No. 1 spot on the singles chart but it's Gnarls Barkley's unlikely tribute to psychosis that has people shouting in the streets in some approximation of rotund singer Cee-Lo Green's booming sandpaper 'n' glue voice, "I think you're crrrrraaaaazzzyeeeeee!" The hit's so popular, the group has already forced its British label to remove the single from stores for fear of it turning into the next "Who Let the Dogs Out?" America, meanwhile, is just getting warmed up. On Tuesday, Green and producer Danger Mouse, famous for his work with the Gorillaz and an illicit mash-up of Jay-Z and Beatles tunes, launched Gnarls Barkley's stateside tour with the first of two sold-out shows at the Fillmore. Looking around at the audience, you could tell that "Crazy" knows no boundaries; the crowd looked a lot like a line at the DMV. It wasn't until the insistent rhythm and runaway verses of "Crazy" kicked in that the audience actually lost its head. As cell phones launched into the air, Green dipped his head back, turned the mike toward the crowd and simply let them deliver the surging chorus, "I think you're crrrrraaaaazzzyeeeeee!" They obviously had had some practice.