This is my first post so bare with me.
Friday saw the beginning of the Toronto Jazz festival with up and coming R&B star Janelle Monae. If you have ever been to the jazz festival you know that the major acts are staged in a large tent in the middle of Nathan Phillips Square. Tickets to get in to the tent are quite expensive but there is a free zone just outside the tent. I live quite close to Nathan Phillips Square so I decided to go and take in the show from the free zone.
F.Y.I....Do not buy a beer from the free zone. Tall boys of Mill Street cost $8.75 plus tip.
The show started around 9:15 PM. I managed to get a good vantage point for the show despite the display cars advertising Hyundai that were planted directly in front of the stage. Also, the sound sucks in the free zone because all of the speakers are inside the tent.
Janelle puts on a very high energy show. This girl must lose 5 to 10 pounds every performance. She only slowed down when she sang the Charlie Chaplin song Smile. Included in her set mix were two awesome cover songs. Michael Jackson's I Want You Back and Prince's Take Me With U. She ended her 45 minute set with her most popular songs Cold War and Tightrope (Still sounded good despite being overplayed in a certain car commercial!!!)
After a 5 minute break Janelle and her band returned for an encore. The first song was a medley of James Bond theme song covers. Wearing what looked like a tuxedo she sang You Only Live Twice followed by Goldfinger. The night ended with a with the song Come Alive (The War of the Roses). This song is a 10 minute blast featuring audience sing alongs, guitar solos, standing on audience member's shoulders, and Janelle and her band dancing and rolling around on the ground.
Quite a way to start a jazz festival!!!
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