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Thursday, October 2, 2008

Live Review Janelle Monae

Posted by Andrew R Tonry on Thu, Oct 2, 2008 at 2:38 PM


Photo by Minh Tran

Janelle Monae @ Wonder Ballroom, October 1, 2008

It's difficult, if not impossible, to remain objective or even insightful when you're in love. (Then again, this is music criticism...) Point is, last night I fell in love with Janelle Monae.

Or maybe it's lust. Either way, the beautiful confusion stirred in Monae's performance last night was mesmerizing.

The way she moves, my God--undeniable. Hip hop crossed with statuesque 1940's class. What a strange thing. Her whole aesthetic seems like it came out of a great futuristic-film--like Blade Runner or something surreal and beautiful, as predicted through the eyes of Stanley Kubrick. (Can you tell how confused I am?)

Monae's performance was multi-facetet, including stripped rock, a jazz duet, banging hip-hop and future sounds. But more than anything, it was a show in the classic sense of the word. Not just songs, but theatrics. Smoke and lights and movements. Taking things way up, then twisting the audience slowly around her fingers. Dynamic control. A diva--magnetic in a way few performers are.

I figure Monae is going to be huge, as evidenced by three things:

1.) On stage she is absolutely captivating. Monae turned a lukewarm, under-attended, not-yet-drunk Wonder Ballroom into something bubbly, buoyant and bouncy. Where she goes, good times will follow.

2.) Her style is unmatched. My god, high-waisted pants, wing-tips, a cummerbund, and pompadour never looked so modern. And fucking hot. Jesus. She's the tiniest little thing you've ever seem, but god, a firey stick of dynamite. She can move, boy. A cross between Andre 3000 and Prince, she left me feeling both sexually pent up and like we achieved multiples. What the hell is that? Then there's the whole sci-fi bent she's on. A unique, modern character the world has not yet seen.

3.) Talent. As evidenced by a jazz-duet with a wig wearing guitarist, Monae has a voice. No auto-tune necessary.

As far as songs go, Monae has a KILLER single in "Many Moons." Aside from that, the tracks are solid, some invoking early Michael Jackson (Monae also broke off a picture-perfect moon-walk, oh and crowd surfed, and... well, you get the idea). But the one thing that needs improvement is composition--some tracks are one dimensional, although the dimension they ride is pretty cool. Still, a few more dynamic turns and stronger hooks and boom, headlining Madison Square Garden. I don't think it'll be long.

And if for some reason things don't work out, it's OK Janelle, I'll still love you. Too bad for my beating heart everyone else will too.

 

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