So in about five days I’ll be going to see Janelle Monae in concert. I’ve been waiting for this for about three years. I think it will be a wonderful experience.
I love Janelle Monae in part, because she makes music that is SUPPOSED to be performed live. Not many artists do that nowadays. They just play a recorded backing track and rap/sing over it. I love Janelle for using live instruments. Interacting with the crowd. And HER BAND. From the videos I’ve watched, her band follows her SO WELL.
Her guitar player, Kellindo Parker (who’s uncle I believe used to play for James Brown) is a beast.
George TwoPointOh, the drummer, has some serious chops. From what i understand, he has some church backgrounds. And his drumming on Mushrooms and Roses is absolutely superb. Too bad it’s not on her set list for this concert.
Her bass player, Brandon Gilliard can seriously play. Like seriously. And he’s a pretty funny dude.
Her background singers are cute. I know one is named Ashley.
And then Janelle herself. My God. I can’t wait to see her perform “wild” songs like Dance Apocalyptic and Come Alive but also her mellow songs like Victory and Primetime . Also she’ll be doing Jackson 5 AND Prince covers so that should really be exciting.
Stay tuned to read about my experience of the concert next week.