We never thought we’d see a concert musician doing a right excellent Michael Jackson moonwalk on the stage of Davies Symphony Hall, but goshdernit, we have now seen exactly that. Last Thursday night’s Spring Gala evening at Davies, which paired powerhouse R&B singer Janelle Monae and her spirited band with the San Francisco Symphony, was a triumph. Elegant in black-and-white threads and serious pompadour, Monae gave her considerable all to a set-list that included hits by the Jackson 5, Prince, and Charlie Chaplin (“Smile”). Monae one-upped Shirley Bassey by putting her own mark on “Goldfinger.” She colored blue outside the lines in “Peachtree Blues.” She got the normally staid Davies crowd up on their feet and shaking their booties in the aisles when she encored with her hits “Tightrope” and “Babopyeya,” finishing us off with her catchy new single (with Erykah Badu) “Q.U.E.E.N.,” from her upcoming album The Electric Lady. Since Out There has known a Q.U.E.E.N. or two in our life, the new song was right up our alley.
The concertizing crowd, which leaned youthful like a Junior League B&W Ball, got the party started with a sparkling wine reception in the grand lobby of Davies Symphony Hall. The glamorous afterparty transpired in the City Hall rotunda and antechambers, with live music by an M.J. cover band, rad cocktails, and yummy edibles. Proceeds benefit the SF Symphony’s education and community programs providing music education to Bay Area schools. Plus, now Out There is a newly devoted fan of the talented Janelle Monae. As her lyric puts it so eloquently, “The booty don’t lie!”
Read More: http://www.edgesanfrancisco.com/index.php?ch=entertainment&sc=&sc2=features&sc3=&id=144924
Source: edgesanfransisco / MJ-Upbeat.com
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