Janelle Monáe Downloads Herself into the Mainframe of the Fillmore Charlotte

One week ago, I ventured out of my snuggly mountain city to the bustling metropolis of Charlotte for a night of dancing, sci-fi, and rampant sexual freedom.  No, I wasn’t going to a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but instead to catch one of my all-time favorite artists and performers, Janelle Monáe, play to a sold-out crowd at the decade-old Charlotte Fillmore.  I had yet to experience that venue, but I was confident that Ms. Monáe would have no trouble making any space into her playground for the evening. 

The venue: The concert took place at the Fillmore in Charlotte, which is a new-ish music hall (opened in 2009) close to downtown.  It is part of the AvidXchange Music Factory, a mixed-use complex that houses not only the Fillmore but also the Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheater (a mid-sized, seasonal outdoor venue) and the Underground (the Fillmore’s younger, dirtier sister), as well as a number of themed clubs, bars and restaurants.  It is also the home of several local and global businesses – including the corporate offices of its namesake, AvidXchange – as well as an apartment complex.  This Live Nation-run venue operates out of an old textile mill and is “themed in the tradition of the legendary Fillmore in San Francisco” boasting the same hardwood oak floors and red-painted walls, plus facsimiles of the original’s signature chandeliers and a (much) smaller version of the SF Fillmore’s collection of framed event posters.  I’d have to say that the similarities start and stop there.  While the original features multiple floors (including a balcony), a cavernous main room, and a much more storied atmosphere, this “offshoot” is much different, as it is easily less than half the size and, due to its structure, feels raw and cramped no  second floor and a plethora of pipes and iron adorning its rather low ceilings.  What would often be seen as ‘industrial’ feels more ‘manufactured’ than anything else, but it’s Live Nation so I was not surprised.  The stadium-style tiered standing area is a good idea in theory, but as the show felt oversold, it became an anxiety-ridden experience as the numerous security personnel were often found standing at the edge of each section waving people by with their flashlights and questioning anyone trying to cross the boundary into one.  The venue entrance flanked the stage’s left side (if standing onstage), while the opposite end was reserved for those who dropped $100 on premium seating.  There were bars and food stands peppered throughout, with the merchandise table occupying most of the venue’s back wall.  Perhaps the coolest part was the walk to the spacious and warmly lit restrooms (as well as the space’s smoking patio), as the path split the main floor and the VIP section and led us straight past the stage’s right side – offering those with standard GA tickets a quick glimpse of the performers up close before being shooed down the path by yet another security guard.  The sound was amazing, as were the lights, but much of Ms. Monáe’s accompanying video content was lost upon those standing in the rear due to the limited visibility caused by the low ceilings.

The highs:

• THE SHOW: Janelle Monáe is a born performer.  She shimmers onstage.  Her personae – including both her characters and her true self – are manifested through gorgeous songs, her unwavering ability to hammer through a melody, and her infectious energy, perhaps best exhibited through her envy-inducing dance ability.  Her backup troupe of singers and dancers are just as amazing, and the show comes together through their cooperation with their fearless leader.  I’ve seen Monáe on every tour she’s done, dating all the way back to when she only had her Metropolis: The Chase Suite EP on record store shelves and she was opening for Athens, GA art-rockers of Montreal.  Her evolution throughout the past decade or so has been fascinating to behold.  This being the tour behind her latest effort Dirty Computer – a departure from her magnum opus that started with Metropolis and continued through The ArchAndroid and Electric Lady – the material performed was heavily reliant on these newer tracks.  Songs like “Crazy Classy Life” and “Take a Byte” were featured early on and were the perfect introduction to Monáe’s newest virtual universe.  It wasn’t long however that earlier favorites like “Primetime” and the ever-fabulous “Q.U.E.E.N.” (which, Monáe revealed in a recent Rolling Stone interview, was originally titled “Q.U.E.E.R.” – she also revealed that she was pansexual in that same interview).  The dominating material was from Dirty Computer though, with new classics like “PYNK” and “Make Me Feel” making their voices heard.  During “I Got the Juice,” Monáe invited several audience members onstage to show off their dance moves, much to the delight of the audience, as well as the performers.  All in all, it was perhaps one of the best shows I have seen Ms. Monáe perform, and this chapter in her career – nay, her life – is sure to be one that will be looked back on fondly by those who can appreciate her wondrous, illuminating presence.
• THE SOUND: While the sightlines were a bit problematic, the show sounded amazing from basically anywhere in the venue. It’s not a terribly large space, but it is heavily equipped with the appropriate number of amplifiers and speakers to make it sound like the performers are basically singing right into your ears.  This was a definite plus.
• THE PARKING: There was free on-site parking!  In an actual parking lot!  Like a 3-minute walk to the venue doors!  AHHHHH!  *brain explodes*
• THE CROWD: Probably the best crowd I have yet seen at a North Carolina venue.  Everybody LOVES this woman.  Holy shit.  Their energy must be what Janelle Monáe converts into raw talent every night, because EVERY SINGLE PERSON that was there was so freakin' excited to see her.  It was one of those very special nights that it really felt as if we as an audience were all part of something larger, something harmonious and welcoming, like a temporary family.  It was beautiful.
• THE SMOKING AREA: Haha, I know this sounds lame, but the smoking area was huge, easily accessible, and fully entertaining, whether it was watching a guy who was a little too inebriated trying to reason with the medical staff onsite or getting a chance to feel like a popstar by walking onto the stage at the neighboring Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheater for a brief moment (the backstage area was adjacent to the smoking patio).

The lows:

• THE SECURITY: Way too many of these dudes. They were rude, they were unwavering, and they were everywhere.  My fiancée had to move three times because he kept getting told different things about where it was ok to stand.  They stood as sentinels along the two sets of “stairs” that went up and to the back of the venue, basically not letting anybody cross into the sections of the tiered standing area that were already full – which was all of them.  Even after finding a comfortable-ish viewpoint near the back bar, we were told to move again, but for no real reason.  Which brings me to my next point….
• THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE/THE SIGHTLINES/THE LACK OF SPACE/ETC.: …it was bogus. I understand that this is her only North Carolina date on this tour, and that people – including myself – were willing to drive 2+ hours to see her, but it was waaaay too crowded in there. Definitely should not have been that difficult to just make it to the bathroom.  Also, the ratio of people in the standing area to the space offered to VIP ticketholders was totally off.  The seated area was huge and virtually empty compared to the main floor, and the price of an upgrade was totally unreasonable.  But hey, it’s Live Nation…they gouge you when they can and if you don’t splurge, they make your life a living hell.  Basically, if you didn’t arrive at doors you weren’t getting a good spot; you’d either face being shoved up against the merch table in back (which was way too big) or you were fighting for space near one of the bars or by the sausage stand.  Luckily, I found a good spot by the entrance that offered a profile view of Ms. Monáe, and the only sacrifices were that I could not see the screen onto which she was projecting video (but neither could half the audience, thanks to the low ceiling) and that the sound was only slightly worse than it was facing head-on.  It would’ve been a total home run if there were about 30% less people, but we all managed to enjoy ourselves, so we bit the bullet.
• THE DRINK PRICES: NINE DOLLARS FOR A YUENGLING.  I’m just going to leave that there, so it can sink in.

The final word: Well, not even Live Nation can tank an evening with Janelle Monáe, and they are freakin’ experts at making one hate themselves at any event.  The venue is perhaps a bit too high-maintenance for a crowd of that size (it reminded me of The Warfield in San Francisco on a busy night), and the inability for many of us to see the whole show was disappointing.  But we all made do because its Janelle freakin Monáe and she makes any space into an intergalactic speakeasy worthy of a Philip K. Dick novel.  She could be playing out of a dumpster behind Trader Joe’s and it would feel like a slice of her afro-futurist fantasyland.  She’s just that good.