My review of the first of two sold out shows for Janelle Monae and Of Montreal at the 930 Club is over at the Washington City Paper but additional photos are below. I went in not knowing one song from either band but simply put? One should not see a Janelle Monae show if you wish to remain calm, your body will be unable to stop itself from moving about to her space-age rock/funk/soul combo. This woman is the complete package in terms of a performer and is an absolute must-see live. She proves you don't have to have a ton of "stuff" onstage to be impressive, you just have to have talent.
On the other hand, Of Montreal seemed to believe that a massive stage show and props for every song will fake you out and take your attention away from the fact that the songs just aren't that good. And it worked for a little while...but close to two hours of this and it started to burn my retinas. While I applaud an artistic visual to go with the aural experience when you see a band live, I think it's a problem if the what you see if more interesting than what you're hearing...even if the lead singer is sporting a pair of tights and a June Cleaver apron.
Give a Listen:
Tightrope-Janelle Monae/Buy The Android
Coquet Coquette-Of Montreal/Buy False Priest
NPR archived the stream the second show of their two-night stay in DC and it's available here.
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