If there is one indisputable fact about last night’s Cee-Lo Green show, it’s that everyone was happy to be there.
Be it openers The Nervous Wreckords, who were thrilled to play a packed house, or Vokab Kompany, who earnestly believed that their performance might attract crossover fans, or Cee-Lo himself, who may have confessed to being high on ecstasy (“My nipples are half-erect!”), the performers were all elated in their own ways. The audience, too, didn’t seem to think there was a better place on Earth to be, despite the crazy melting pot of spastic dancers, drunk-as-fuck frat boys, tarted-up Gaslamp girls, and a handful of out-of-place indie fans.
The audience expressed an admirable interest in The Nervous Wreckords, whose set never really gelled with the acts that followed. And the crowd was receptive to the rap-rocking Vokab Kompany, whose Insane Clown Posse aesthetic felt more like a history of bad whiteboy fashions than anything else. But what do you expect from a band that derives its naming conventions from Krusty the Klown?
The headlining Cee-Lo took to the stage like the star he is, ten-pound pinkie ring glittering as he sipped from a bottle of Patron. (If the tequila company needs a new spokesman, Cee-Lo is their man — he drank that shit like water.) Everyone stood and stared with dumb grins as Cee-Lo belted out six songs, letting the backing track and crowd do most of the heavy lifting. When he did sing, though, his talent was undeniable. It’s amazing how quickly Cee-Lo, who essentially did a karaoke set of his own music, made the audience forget the sacrifices (Vokab Kompany, I’m looking at you) they made to see him.
After Cee-Lo’s 25-minute performance — which felt like a nanosecond after the interminable previous set — the confused crowd let out a little “Huh?” For a moment, everyone seemed to realize that they’d paid thirty some odd bucks to see two sets by bands they’d never heard of, and a set by Cee-Lo that lasted about as long as it takes to walk to the Fluxx bar.
But then the predictable dance music kicked back in and all was right with the world.
Photos: Cee-Lo Green – February 10, 2011
Photos: The Nervous Wreckords – February 10, 2011
Vokab murdered the fuck outta Fluxx and they're sexy as fuck. Miaowwwwww.
I think we should all take pause in this Vokab Kompany debate to notice the fact that nowhere in the article does the writer critique the actual music. If the band's "Insane Clown Posse aesthetic felt more like a history of bad whiteboy fashions than anything else," there conveniently aren't any photos here to support such a ridiculous claim. I don't remember seeing any face paint or bottles of cheap soda being sprayed into the crowd.
And as far as naming conventions, let's not ignore the long history of artists who have not only adopted pseudonyms & stage names, but have cleverly altered the spelling of their names in order to attract attention. (The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, KoRn, etc. are just a few that come to mind, although the list goes on & on.)
And finally, as far as the sacrifices made by the audience before Cee-Lo's performance, I suppose they were so dismayed by Vokab Kompany's performance, they literally chanted the band's name until they left the stage.
You know how I know you don't know jack shit about music?
1. Vokab Kompany is about as similar to Insane Clown Posse as Cee-Lo is to Ray Charles. The only similarity you get is that they create music, and share the same ethnicity, which sadly seems to be the limit of your musical criticism.
2. Vokab Kompany is pulling more fans up & down the west coast than the majority of local acts here in SD.
3. Rap & Rock? Really? Vokab Kompany (if you actually bother to listen to their music instead of dissing them on their appearance & race) is hard to pigeon-hole into one category. They're more like a hip-hop-funk-jam-dance act than a "rap-rock" act. Of course, when you shut your mind down based on appearances, you tend to miss out on such things.
I doubt they're worried though…one hater doesn't make or break a career.
I count 4 retard.
Just a quick grammatical correction here — I think you mean "I count AS retard," not "I count FOR retard."
yeah, no the numerical 4 was correct… so now there are "2" retards.
You and who else?
touche cow bear
Every band has irrational rabid fanboys, looks like all 3 of Vokab's showed up here. The rest of us with functional ears know the truth: They were awful. Truly awful.
VOKAB killed like they do at all their shows. CeeLo can do whatever he want's he's sick like that.
This show was awesome in all ways, and whoever did the review needs to take a shower, they're rotten.
Respect to those who contribute to our reality with sick music and useful energy.
Thank you VOKAB for providing us with something new and amazing.
Wow what an idiot….. I don't know who is a bigger idiot, the hater who wrote this slanderous crap, or the idiot that hired him. First off Johnson let's set the record straight. You can't write. That's right I said it. You are the polar opposite of a J.D. Salinger, (even though by the looks of this mess of pathetic descriptions and arrogant condescending pigeon holed labels of humans) you've probably never heard of him. Let me be the first to clue you in on something here. The day's of middle school classism are over. You don't have to pigeon hole yourself into a label to make yourself feel comfortable anymore. You no longer are just the jock, or the skater, or the avant guard artist. We are living in time now where people have just become people, without trying to click ourselves together in a box to feel as though we belong to something. Let me try and put this advice in as nice a way as possible. You should give up writing. Seriously just quit. I'm sure you're still young enough to be molded into a republican of some sort. Who knows, with a little luck you could be the next Palin or maybe even some bias Fox News writer. Stop looking at the world with your tunnel vision of ignorantness, and find a job you might actually be able to do properly.
yes thumbs up to you for your ability to spell Vokabs name correctly, however you seem to have missed a few scholarly points. if vokab does not know how to dress in your eyes, i can only assume you're style is not up to date, and you do not look nearly as good as half those men on stage, because yes, us ladies were impressed by the variety of sexy shirtless men, and GQ style of Mr. Gallo. if you are unaware, Vokab is from our lovely SD, so the crowd was FILLED with their fans. Their music is unlike music of many other bands, therefore they have a high spirited fan base and loyal following. That show, and the people dancing and singing was for vokab, not cee lo. Cee Lo's performance was disappointing, and the dj playing during the intermission needs some serious lessons on timing and drops. so if you are going to criticize performances, get your facts straight.
That's rt Jb,
I'm not aware if you're at the same show mister blogger?
Maybe if you were concerned about your hard nipples you would see that major talent that was in front of you..VOKAB KOMPANY should have had Mr.25 minutes open for them!! Get your head on rt stop hating and get your mom's basement. Sowwy AZZ mofo