• by Kelly Samardak , August 12, 2010

ScanScout's Janelle Monae Private Concert, Edison Ballroom
August 11, 2010

Note to readers: Because I couldn't make it to the Janelle Monae show, I thought, "why not give Just An Online Minute readers the opportunity to live it up and write it up?" Noelle Cleary of ScanScout was instantly receptive and was a cool cucumber fielding questions and last minute switcheroos. Big fat musical thank-yous for giving readers the opportunity to party and listen in on some new and very buzz-heavy music. After reading these summaries, I was cranky that I missed it. Thanks again, ScanScout, for playing along! - Kelly

edited at 3:55p.m. EST on 8.12.2010 to add: These readers went because they won this.

Walking That Tightrope
by Brandon Barras of Ugo.com (@bbarras on Twitter)

Great venue, cold drinks and delicious food. I would say that pretty much sums it up. There is something to be said when an event is done right. It gives you the feeling that you truly are a "VIP" of sorts. Well played, ScanScout, well played. As if mini sliders weren't enough, ?uestLove kept the mood right and spirits high with his dj set before Miss Monae took the stage. When everyone had just enough special sauce in them to start dancing a bit, the lights dimmed and we were treated to an up-close and intimate performance, nay, concert. I might be a little biased as a fan already, but Janelle Monae didn't hold anything back for the crowd of 400. She was high energy, high intensity and highly talented the entire time. It was as if the crowd was in a battle with her and her band to see who was having a better time. I think we won. After being treated to an hour of songs and dancing, we grabbed a couple more drinks, some cannolis and headed home feeling like we had indeed just tipped on the tightrope of a great night.

Bonus point to Brandon for also submitting video!

Taking The Vow Of Righteousness
by Kailei Richardson of Ripple6

The Edison Ballroom was a-buzzing at the Janelle Monae concert sponsored by ScanScout last night, filled with industry folks: advertising, digital media and the likes. The music, spun by ?uest Love, was amazing (girl I heard in the bathroom: "this DJ is f*$&ing awesome!") and got the people moving all night long. One of the highlights of the night was ScanScout's video booth. Essentially they had people dance in front of a white screen and they displayed the dancing clips on the large movie screens and monitors around the ballroom. But that's not all! They even had accessories -- sunglasses, hats, scarves, big bows, etc. for people to put on for their video debut (such a great touch!).

Food and drink: Let me tell you, the food situation was executed perfectly. It started with things like shrimp cocktail, scallops, then moved onto the favorite of the night -- beef sliders with a chipotle sauce. After Janelle Monae's set was over, they even brought out dessert: mini cheesecakes, cannoli, and black and white cookies (well, they were more like black and gold). And then there were the cocktails -- the open bar was well appreciated and the lemondrop martinis were certainly my fave of the night.

The concert and such: Janelle Monae was her eclectic, amazing self. I was able to get pretty close to the front on the stage and I can tell you firsthand that not only is her voice great but also her skin is flawless (I mean, wow). Anyway, before she got on stage we all had to take a vow and say, "I vow to have a damn good time... no matter how many of my co-workers see me... because there is an open bar."

Everyone was rocking from start to finish (but not as much as Miss Monae herself or her guitarist, whose bone-straight hair was flying all night). I had a great time. It was great to be at such an intimate venue so close to the start of the night, not to mention being able to hang out next to the DJ booth with the infamous DJ ?uest Love. I so heart MediaPost and ScanScout for giving me the opportunity to go -- and Jason Krebs, ScanScout Executive Vice President; Nicole Lund and Valentine Lysikatos, working the ScanScout booth; and Kailei's +1 Raquel Lachman from Glaceau, a Vitamin Water brand.

ScanScout Summer Jam 2010
by Leonard Zachary of EquityStep

DJ ?uest Love set a fun atmosphere with a groove tempo cranked from his music playlist which migrated from retro to the present and really set the stage for Janelle Monae. "Walking on Sunshine" was fun to hear again after so many eons ago and made me leave any business networking home and just have fun. There was business at hand but cleverly disguised -- a low-tech application of ScanScout's sophisticated technology platform for behavioral target advertising. Guests could act at the video shoot booth which replayed their performance intermittently throughout the evening on the stage screen, giving anyone who dared their "15 minutes of fame." Janelle Monae mesmerized the audience with her high energy, and her music satisfied everyone's soul. The synchronized documentary visuals on the stage screen blended well with her performance bringing a Warhol party déjà vu and SXSW flashback. ScanScout put on a great event giving fun memories for their guests associated with their brand. So go buy some advertising now."

Bowties + Sunglasses + Balloons
By Shirley Toussaint of Shirley Toussaint Event Marketing

Seeing bodies and images move to the clever blends spun by DJ ?uestlove and kinetic sounds of Janelle Monae at last night's ScanScout Summer Jam, opens up dimensions I want to travel to. Wondaland and ScanScout technologies are futurists.Why isn't the flying car here yet? George Clinton and Parliament landed a spaceship on performance stages back in the '70s. Expect new funklord, Janelle Monáe (a.k.a. Droid Cindi Mayweather) to fly and land the Terrafugia Transition -- The First Flying Car on Madison Square Garden.

Photos from the guest writers are up on Flickr!