During their second D.C. show Monday night at the Anthem, Monáe nurtured a space for release and celebration, asking the audience to remain present and discard thoughts of the past and future. The 37-year-old multimedia storyteller did the same, drawing from an album that finds them widening their musical explorations into pulsing reggae and exultant Afrobeats, wading through limpid pools of want and connection on the way.
Its brassy opener, “Float,” sets a relaxed yet boastful course. “I had to protect all my energy/ I’m feelin’ much lighter, now I/ Float,” they sing. Like the album as a whole, the track offers listeners a more fluid approach to the present, one that includes molten desires, shared inhales and languid trails of sweat.
Monáe’s earlier musical journey centered on Afrofuturist visions of their android alter ego, Cindi Mayweather. Told across several releases, including the 2010 tour de force “The ArchAndroid,” Monáe’s musical travelogue referenced and expanded upon diasporic Black soundscapes, such as retrospective rock and sweeping jazz, and was anchored by their luminous, fearless vocals. “The Age of Pleasure” sets out for different territory.
Before Monáe took the stage, opening act Flyana Boss warmed up the crowd with animated, charming rapping. The L.A.-based duo, composed of Bobbi LaNea and Folayan, performed its achingly short viral hit “You Wish” (“Hello, Christ? I’m ’bout to sin again!” goes the memorable line) with the help of enthusiastic concertgoers plucked from the crowd.
The audience participation continued, with Monáe sumptuously supported by their band and backup dancers. The stirring “Paid in Pleasure” invited stylish fans onto the stage to dance freely, with Monáe, radiant and affirming. The flirtatious “Lipstick Lover,” body-rolling “Water Slide” and dreamy “Only Have Eyes 42” kept the intrigue flowing.
As Monáe prepared to close the show with defiant dance number “Tightrope,” they reiterated the album’s themes of care and cultivation. “This is about a response to love — love for ourselves, love for each other,” Monáe said. “We take care of each other here.”
