Friday, 6 June 2008

Gnarls Barkley lines up 'Odd' handful of dates

While it may not be the full summer tour the group's fans were hoping for, Gnarls Barkley continues to add dates in support of its latest studio set, "The Odd Couple."The duo--multi-instrumentalist/producer Danger Mouse and rapper/vocalist Cee-Lo Green--currently show scattered concert appearances throughout the summer months, including the June 7 Roots Picnic in Philadelphia, an outdoor music fest also featuring the event's namesake, The Roots, plus Santogold, Deerhoof, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and other artists.The pair also has a number of European dates lined up; the complete overseas schedule is available at the group's website. US dates are shown below.The band released its second studio album, "The Odd Couple," in March, three weeks earlier than originally intended, citing an Internet leak in a coyly written statement that appeared on the band's website."With the shifting seasons, furtive romantic entanglements and fierce college basketball rivalries, the latter half of March can be confusing," said the statement. "People need to be soothed and inspired now. Or maybe the early release was due to the fact that a digital version of the album has already been leaked online?"Gnarls Barkley began creating controversy even before the release of the follow-up to its 2006 debut, "St. Elsewhere," which garnered the duo two Grammy awards in 2007 (Best Urban/Alternative Performance for "Crazy" and Best Alternative Music Album).The video for "Run," the first single from "The Odd Couple," was banned in early March by MTV UK, which said it failed to pass the Harding Test, which determines if strobe effects have potential to trigger epileptic seizures, according to published reports. An edited version of the video, which features Justin Timberlake, was submitted to the network and is now running in the UK, while the unedited version continues to air on MTV in the US.