Coachella 2011: Cee Lo Green got a major “... You” for his lateness

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Showing up late to your own gig at Coachella only gets you so far. For Cee Lo Green, it got him nothing but grief.

Restlessness and anger quickly spread through the swarm of fans that had convened to see the singer on the main stage Friday afternoon. With the sweltering heat beaming down on the crowd, it wasn’t long before profanity-laced queries of when he’d show started to ring out.

And then came the boos.

“If we’re coming to your show and you don’t even show I’m like ... you!” a shirtless fan sang to the tune of Cee Lo’s breakout hit.

After nearly half an hour, and plenty of walkouts later –- he arrived.

“Sorry guys I just landed. Y’all still gonna party with me? I only have 20 minutes,” Green said. “It ain’t my fault. They should have ... given me a better time slot.”

The statement got him nowhere, as people piled out and flipped him the bird through a now drastically abbreviated set -– he was able to tackle five songs including hits “Crazy” and his signature tune, which took on a new meaning.

“It’s all my fault. Blame me,” and then his sound was cut, leaving the audience -– and a confused band -– to attempt to finish what was thought to be an encore (a cover of “Don’t Stop Believin’”). Green exited the stage amid boos as the band played on -– though no one could hear a note.

-- Gerrick D. Kennedy
Twitter.com/gerrickkennedy

Photo: Cee Lo Green on stage at Coachella. Credit: Brian van der Brug, Los Angeles Times