Grace Jones and Janelle Monae each gave an unapologetically bold, Black and beautiful performance during the opening night benefit concert to kick off the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! summer performing arts festival.
Shouts of “happy pride” peppered the evening’s festivities — a collaboration with Blue Note and Live Nation — and many of the diverse and multigenerational concertgoers gathered at Lena Horne Bandshell in Prospect Park waved fans, shook tambourines and flaunted their fashion flair.
A colorfully clad, midriff-baring young man named Julian channeled a young Prince with his mane of curls, round shades and a lollipop, and gyrated in his seat. He said that Monae’s music moves him and that his dad is a huge Jones fan.
Electric lady
Monae, who identifies as nonbinary, moved the cheering crowd with an energized hour-long set that showcased hits from her bright — but by comparison to Jones, brief — music catalogue.
Her opening look was a flirty, black and white latex tuxedo mini-dress. Backed by a horn-heavy band and flanked by two female dancers in short black latex dresses, the striking 39 year old sang and danced her heart out, notably on “Electric Lady,” ”Q.U.E.E.N,” “Lipstick Lover,” and “Make Me Feel.”
Monae has noticeably matured as an artist and her vocals were impressive. She brought the packed, outdoor house down with the simmering “I Like That” and the pop-rock-leaning “Cold War,” which poses the timely query, “Do you know what you’re fighting for?”
The Kansas native closed with arguably her most popular song, the ‘60s soul-reminiscent “Tightrope,” and left the stage draped in a black sequined cape in homage to godfather of soul, James Brown.
John Carluccio photos
“Here’s Grace!”
Not even the drizzling rain could dampen the spirits of the crowd as they eagerly awaited for the queen to come through. Then around 9:20 p.m., there she was in all of her androgynous glamazon glory, standing stoically behind an elevated railing, shrouded by mist, wearing a signature structured suit with her head and eyes concealed by a helmet-like red hat.
Jones launched into her alternately hard hitting and coquettish hour-and-a-half long set with a few ‘80s disco bangers, including “Nightclubbing” and “Private Life.” Then she literally beat to the sound of her own drum on the pulsating, “Demolition Man,” written by Sting.
You’d be hard pressed to find another entertainer who can captivate an audience quite like Jones. Even seasoned performers like Beyonce, Rihanna, Madonna and Lady Gaga — all of whom Jones has shaded for copying her — can still learn a thing or two about sex appeal and stage presence from the statuesque and snatched 77 year old.
During her show, she quickly changed into several avant garde chapeaus designed by Irish milliner Philip Treacy; she sauntered, poked out her tongue, and toyed with the audience.
“You’re going to get to know me a little bit. I don’t have a filter, or so they tell me,” she said before she belted “Williams Blood,” a fiery song co-written by The Revolution’s Wendy and Lisa.
She then chugged a glass of wine and said, “I feel the spirit now!” After that, she really went to church and flexed her powerful pipes with a soul stirring a capella rendition of “Amazing Grace.”
More mesmerizing moments included “My Jamaican Guy,” with chants of “Go Brooklyn” filling the air (a nod to L.L. Cool J’s sample on “Doin’ It”); the dramatic way Jones echoed the word “strange” once she finished the dramatic “I’ve Seen That Face Before”; a funky new track called “The Key” ; and her hypnotic cover of Roxy Music’s “Love Is The Drug.”
As a closer, Jones pulled out all the stops for “Pull Up to the Bumper.”
“Curfew, who ever heard of a curfew. Seriously?” she scoffed, as she piggybacked through the crowd wearing a sculptural red hat and a black corset. Back on the stage, Monae joined Jones to sing the chorus, and they playfully spanked each to the beat of the bubbling bassline.
“You’re a naughty girl,” Monae said with a sly grin.
For her encore, even after the house lights went up, Jones hula hooped for the duration of “Slave to the Rhythm.”
Amazing, Grace.
For more information on this summer’s Celebrate Brooklyn! Lineup, visit bricartsmedia.org/celebrate-brooklyn/.