i STILL want to be Janelle Monáe.

after getting stuck in ridiculous traffic and missing janelle open for no doubt on the 26th, i was totally devastated, but much to my surprise, i got an e-mail that told me she was going to be playing the afro-punk festival at bam ... get this, FOR FREE! i was so psyched. and to top it off elevator flight was going to be playing right before janelle! how exciting! zoe kravitz is so fierce, obviously.

anyways, we made our way through the hordes of young skaters around 5:45 when elevator fight was just about to start.
they were quite enjoyable, good energy, catchy tunes ... oh, and zoe is just adorable. almost as adorable as her parents.


after much anticipation, janelle came on close to 7 (not 6:23 as she said that morning on twitter).
by that time, i had squeezed myself up to the front, because of course, i wouldn't want to miss any of the action from being caught in some crappy spot in the crowd.
nothing has changed, and i STILL want to be her. she manages to put on an incredible live show every time. she amazes me to no end. i mean, she can sing, dance, and she's totally gorgeous and awesome. what more could anyone ask for?

in the middle of her set, these guys started dancing on the roof ... it was fantastic. i wish i could be that cool.

while seemingly shorter than it actually was, janelle did a 40 minute set, which included the usual painting on canvas, a jump into the crowd, insane dancing, ridiculous pipes, and a couple of breaks to adjust her signature coif. i can't even deal. she's magical. period. that is all.



more photos here AND here.