Imagine that you are floating through space, spiraling towards a distant planet. This planet is shooting out neon colors, mysterious shapes, and large amounts of snow white feathers to welcome you. As you inch closer to landing, you see what appears to be a massive rampage of overindulgent creatures.
Some are drenched in silver, and wave their sparkling lobster claws in the air. Others dance around a beautiful woman in an android helmet who opens her mouth and lets out the most powerful voice you have ever heard. This is about the time when the sky opens and a man, wearing nothing but woman’s clothing and blue cowboy boots, floats down.
If you can try to picture this in your head, you will only be able to understand a small amount of what the Of Montreal concert, with Janelle Monáe, was like. In past concerts, Of Montreal has been known for over the top costumes, giant screens playing images that make no sense, and spraying shaving cream into the crowd. They are a band that knows how to complement their abnormal music with a performance to match.
This is all thanks to the dark and complicated mind of Kevin Barnes, the lead singer of Of Montreal. While the rest of the band stayed in the back corners of the stage, Barnes leapt around in his woman’s apron and interacted with the dancers in their various costumes. The term costume is used very loosely. Some of the attire included paper maché fish heads, with robot arms and metal pipe legs. Each time a new character walked on stage, the feeling of a bad acid trip became more and more evident.
While the Of Montreal part of the concert left many feeling like that had just walked out of a bad dream, it was Janelle Monáe who saved the concert. She was the opening act for Of Montreal and began her show with a television announcement. The video was of her, dressed in an android helmet, informing the crowd about far off galaxies and the misconceptions humans have about robots. Then three women dressed in hooded capes walked on stage. One of them revealed herself as Monáe and let out a voice normally reserved for angels. Dressed in high-waisted black tuxedo pants, and a white button-down with giant puffy sleeves, Monáe danced around stage with so much energy and talent that the whole crowd moved with her. For such a small, delicate woman, Monáe lets out a voice that makes one think back to Janis Joplin or Aretha Franklin.
Everything about Monáe’s performance was far better than Of Montreal’s. Her backup band was full of energy and was actually getting into the music while Barnes’ band either looked bored or as equally disturbed by what was taking place on stage as the crowd. The dancers from Of Montreal crawled around the age showing hardly any talent besides a few contortionist acts while Monáe’s two dancers pranced around the stage and perfectly complemented Monáe’s performance.
As you wave goodbye to the planet you have just visited, you leave with Janelle Monáe’s voice echoing in your head, and images of Kevin Barnes trapped in a golden cage with a woman dressed as a pig still in your mind. It was quite an adventure you think to yourself, one you never want to go on again.
