Better than: Monáe’s last wonderful performance in SF at the 2012 Black and White Ball
Last night at Davies Hall, Janelle Monáe pretty much wore the same thing she always wears on stage. Fortunately, Monáe always wears a black or white suit and tie — a uniform in tribute to her parents’ jobs as janitor and garbage collector — and this time she was resplendent in a black tux. (So were many of the men in the hall, in deference to the “creative black tie” dress code of the San Francisco Symphony’s Spring Gala.) Her patented pompadour hairstyle was given an elegant, sideswept remix, and her eyes sparkled like the diamonds in her ears.
Ushered up by the San Francisco Symphony performing John Barry’s “Black Hole Theme,” she used her microphone stand as a baton and gun to emphasize the points in the song “Sincerely, Jane,” topping off the track with a little moonwalk. She then started singing a languid version of Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile.” Since this melancholy tune is long known to have been Michael Jackson’s favorite, there was a sense that she was building up a tribute to the Gloved One. But it still took everyone by surprise when she asked, “Now are you guys really ready to jam?” — and began a huge rendition of the Jackson 5′s “I Want You Back.”
The people were definitely ready to jam — the intensity of the sound made it impossible not to feel it — and what we thought was a staid crowd started to bounce around in their seats throughout the show. Arms started waving during a cover of Prince’s “Take Me With You,” which she prefaced by saying, “This next piece is by one of my friends and a musical hero, and I hope you know it.” Prince is famous for looking unimpressed and bored whenever he’s in the audience during a Prince tribute, but Monáe is one of the few he’s embraced.
After paying homage to Prince and Michael, a fascination with James Bond then became clear, with a suite dedicated to the film series. First came the main theme song and then a super-animated version of “Goldfinger.”
READ MORE: http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2013/05/janelle_monae_channels_prince.php
Source: SF Weekly / MJ-Upbeat.com
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