Janelle Monae Concert at Starlight

 Janelle Monae is a defining artist in this century. I remember when The ArchAndroid first released and I was completely taken by the cinematic nature of the music and the sci-fi concepts that rode tightly along. Needless to say, we were thrilled when her Dirty Computer tour included Kansas City at the amazingly put together month-long art exhibit, Open Spaces. Thankfully my wife just got me a Parka, or this would have been miserable because there was snow out there. Janelle seemed to not mind, but my hands get like ice. The Marcus Lewis Big Band opened it up and killed it with Kadesh Flow and Kemet the Phantom. Janelle’s set was super tight but left room for organic fan interaction. Dance moves were on point and the band was glued with a heavy backing track. The show mirrored the modern and futuristic sexual and political concepts that Dirty Computer is loosely based on. Check out some of the footage below.