This isn’t the first time I’ve shot Erykah Badu and Janelle Monae at the same show. I shot both of these amazing ladies at DAR Constitution Hall in 2010 and the show was n’t that different from this year’s performance at Merriweather as part of the Summer Spirit Festival. At the 2010 show, Badu headlined, wore a bulky jacket, didn’t move much at all during her performance and still tore the roof off. Pretty much the same for this year. Janelle Monae was a dynamo on the stage, using kicking ass and taking names and making me wonder why every concert I cover can’t be this dynamic and visually stunning. I LOVE Janelle Monae. She’s my concert photography muse. I’d be very happy to follow her around and shoot her every night. I can’t imagine it ever being boring. Her performance and setlist at Merriweather weren’t that different from her recent show at the Lincoln (and truth be told I prefer her original opening number to “Dance or Die” where she came out in the hooded cape), but I was still transfixed. Another hing I love about shooting Janelle is her opening numbers are usually a big medley, so we get plenty of time to shoot. She never disappoints.
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