As sharp as the difference between a vegan restaurant salad and the State Fair chocolate-covered bacon, Wednesday's concert by Gnarls Barkley at the fair's grandstand was far less sensory-popping and satisfying than the duo's debut two summers ago at First Avenue nightclub. But it also might have been good for Gnarl's long-term health.

The Atlanta-reared soul/rock/hip-hop duo behind the mega-hit "Crazy," Cee-Lo (singer Thomas Callaway) and Danger Mouse (producer/sonic guru Brian Burton) ditched a lot of the gimmickry from their first tour. The performance came off as an extremely concerted effort to not be seen as a novelty band.

They didn't wear the funny costumes they wore in 2006 (at First Avenue, it was white tennis-pro outfits), although Cee-Lo came out in an 1800s-cleric-looking cloak and their five-piece band wore movie-usher shirts and bow ties. They also got rid of the string section from the first time, instead sticking with a regular old rock band.

At times, the seriousness of the show truly underlined the power of the music, and it especially helped showcase Cee-Lo's powerful harried soul-man voice. He practically screamed this way through the suicide-contemplating "Just a Thought," and he channeled Curtis Mayfield in the uplifting "A Little Better."

At other times, though, the concert's momentum lagged worse than the cows at the fair's birthing center, especially during slower numbers such as "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" and "Blind Mary." The hard-rocking "Storm Coming" also felt overblown, even though there was a storm setting in near the end of the 70-minute set.

The drizzly weather didn't help lighten the mood, and neither did the largely vacant grandstand. Attendance was a disappointing 2,831. So much for hipster music at the fair.

As "Crazy" came before the one encore, the crowd indeed went cuckoo. But it was over in a flash. Cee-Lo rhetorically asked, "You guys aren't tired of that song by now?"

A good summary of Gnarls' performance could be found in the two cover songs that nearly book-ended the concert: Its dizzy remake of the Violent Femmes' "Gone Daddy Gone" near the beginning came off as too cutesy and coy, while its rather straight-ahead version of Radiohead's "Reckoner" during the encore was darker, passionate and very, very serious -- but not necessarily better.

Local openers Cloud Cult added to the freak-show vibe of the concert with its ghostly psychedelic chamber-rock. The band genuinely seemed at home at the gig, especially since nearly as many people sang along to its songs "Your Pretty Voice" and "Chemicals Collide" as did to any Gnarls song besides "Crazy."

Also, the group's onstage painter-shtick -- two artists fill canvases while the rest of the band performs -- felt like a quaint extension of the fair's Fine Arts Building.

See the full Gnarls set list at startribune.com/music.

Chris Riemenschneider • 612-673-4658