Janelle Monáe at the Bill Graham

[starlady]

I went to see Janelle Monáe at the Bill Graham last night with some friends--the same friends with whom I saw her absolutely rocking Electric Lady tour show at the Warfield ten years ago. (Ten years?!) The first time I saw her was thirteen years ago, when the pot at the concerts here still phased me (lol). The Bill Graham is a weird venue, and it's not any less weird from the top of the seating section than it is from the GA floor, which is where I saw Fall Out Boy.

It was a great show, with many costume changes, amazing performances, and above all Monáe and their amazing, transcendent voice. I said a long time ago that she reminded me of Prince, and that's even more true now that her shows have really dialed up the sexuality element. But I don't love the new album as much as I loved their earlier work, and Dirty Computer was still way more my jam than the beach record vibes of The Age of Pleasure. (I don't remember why I missed her Dirty Computer tour stop. Alas.) I'm glad I went, but it was impossible not to notice how much the vibe at the shows has shifted along with her music. And this is a good thing! I'm glad she's getting popular and that more people are discovering her music because she absolutely rocks. And I'm glad she's going where she wants to go on her journey, musically and personally. But I loved the Metropolis suites project the most, and they will probably never finish it, and that's okay but a little sad for me personally. If they would at least re-release The Audition for the first time ever, I would be content--I heard about it not long after I first heard Metropolis, but even then it was already impossible to buy--I think they only ever made 500 copies. I really need to read The Memory Librarian--she came down into the crowd for a bit and one of the people next to her had their copy of the book!

All that said, if you'd asked me what the secret third encore song would be, there's no way I would have picked "Mushrooms and Roses," but it was and it was awesome. But next time I'll probably put in some quality listening time with the new album before I plunk down the ducats for a ticket to the show.

Comments

[thistleingrey]

I think both types of project are of the heart, just very differently--and one's more likely to earn them money, which I can't fault, especially as they head slowly towards middle age, when visibility becomes harder for stars, too. But ... yes, I'm not sorry that logistics prevented my going to this show.

D'you mean that folks don't drown in pot in venues elsewhere? How novel. :) (Seriously, I've been to rock/etc. shows only in LA and the Bay Area--provincial. Much pot before the medical provision, too.)

[starlady]

Ime people actually used to do way more pot at shows when I first moved here than they do now--I think a lot of people have switched to vaping. But there was definitely a perceptible haze at this show lol. (One time at the Greek Theater Win Butler of Arcade Fire claimed that he was getting a contact high from the stage. Honestly he was probably telling the truth.) And I guess most of the places I've seen other shows have legalized it in the past few years so you don't get the security guards blundering through the crowd to tell people to stop and/or throw them out anymore.

But the crowds here generally get way less into shows than they do other places I've lived and seen shows. I always thought that artists telling us how much they loved Philly was just buttering us up until I moved here and the difference was palpable. But the crowd was very into this show, up in the balcony and not just on the floor, which is always great. And she said how much she loved us and how San Francisco has always had her back at the end, which also felt great.

[thistleingrey]

Ah, good to know.

But the crowds here generally get way less into shows

Yeah, I've heard that a bunch. SF definitely had Sleater-Kinney's back when I saw them there, but sometimes things have been a bit tepid in LA/SF (even for me, and I kind of prefer less intense shows, on balance).

[scintilla10]

This is a cool review, thanks for sharing! I especially love the Metropolis suite, too. I've seen them twice: The ArchAndroid tour and Dirty Computer. They always blow me away live! (I haven't listened much to The Age of Pleasure yet, but I do want to check it out.)

[starlady]

Tbh I still haven't listened to The Age of Pleasure all the way through! I meant to before the concert but it just slipped my mind perpetually (though they did play album tracks one week on The Current, which I listen to online, earlier this year when it was album of the week). My friends said they liked the live versions of the songs better, which wasn't really surprising given how amazing a performer Monáe is.