By Nadine Moedt (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: November 6, 2013
Soul and R&B singer Janelle Monáe performed at a sold-out show in Seattle this past Wednesday. Monáe, ever in character, broke free from her “doctor” keepers long enough to delight the audience with her impressive endurance and creative theatrics.
Opening the show was an R&B trio headed by Roman Gian Arthur, who manages to look great in a fedora. The band ended the set with soulful covers of Radiohead’s “High and Dry” and the Stevie Wonder classic “Superstitious.”
The audience was equipped with 10 “droid commandments,” which outlined the show’s ground rules: we were to abandon expectations about “art, race, gender, culture, and gravity,” and to “transform” by show’s end, including but not limited to “eye colour, perspective, mood, or height.” Also included were warnings of the perils of conceiving during or within 48 hours of the show, which may or may not result in a winged child.
The set was entertainingly theatrical; first on stage were doctors in white lab coats and black bow ties to check the equipment and warn the audience that shortly, Ms Monáe is going to “funk you up.” Monáe made her entrance in what appeared to be a straightjacket, wheeled out by one of these doctors, who cautiously backed off once she freed herself. The doctors flitted about throughout the show to survey the audience and keep an eye on their android as she performed for the humans. Monáe and her band were all decked out in monochrome; her back-up dancers were sporting Jetsons-esque dresses and severely bobbed hair.
She opened with the exotic and ominous “Suite 5 Electric Overture”, and moved on to the more defiant “Givin’ Em What They Love.”
Alongside a selection of songs from Electric Lady, Monáe covered the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” and Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy.”
Monáe puts on an incredibly energetic and engaging performance. All her songs got the audience moving; her “Ghetto Woman”—dedicated to the women in audience—was impossible not to dance to, and resulted in a lot of unintentional elbowing by the excitable crowd.
Monáe truly was electric. She danced for well over two hours, leaped into the audience twice, and returned for two encores; all the while the white shirts on stage became translucent with sweat.
Well into the show she got everyone to crouch—sympathizing with the shorter audience members—and shimmied through. The band members managed to remain standing and jamming while playing keyboard, drums, and guitar. Mr. Guitar in particular stood out with his classic 70s hair hanging down over his face.
Monae’s ability to interact with the crowd made the show that much more enjoyable. She did her best get the audience to sing along several times, and while we certainly didn’t lack enthusiasm, we had the tendency to just give an over-excited scream when it was our turn to repeat the lyrics.
But in the presence of the electric lady, could you expect anything else?
