Janelle Monae

7:30 p.m. Saturday, August 20. Scottrade Center, 1401 Clark Avenue.

By Ryan Wasoba on Thu, Aug 18, 2011 at 4:00 am

Janelle Monae

$45. 314-622-5435.

[
      {
        "name": "Ad - NativeInline - Injected",
        "component": "37365813",
        "insertPoint": "3",
        "requiredCountToDisplay": "5"
      },{
        "name": "Real 1 Player (r2) - Inline",
        "component": "37365812",
        "insertPoint": "2/3",
        "requiredCountToDisplay": "9"
      }
    ]

In 2010, Janelle Monáe broke out like acne on an eighth grader with her robot-obsessed, asexual and surprisingly human R&B record The ArchAndroid. Filtered through anyone else's vision, such a concept would yield a gimmicky nightmare that would, at best, capture Kraftwerk's coldness. For Monáe, it was the perfect vehicle for her eccentric otherness, like a female Andre 3000, minus the poo-poo jokes. Monáe's next album is in the works; until then, ArchAndroid and her near-hit "Tightrope" — the most genuinely funky song to ever feature ukulele — have pushed Janelle into the space between the lowest rungs of stardom and the upper echelon of the underground.

Last time: Monáe stunned a Pageant crowd opening for her cohorts in Of Montreal. This go- round, Katy Perry's fans get a taste of Janelle's sass and class.–Ryan Wasoba