Coming from the same Atlanta stable as hip-hop superstars Outkast, Janelle Monáe was always going to be a bit special. But her gig at the Bristol Academy – the first on a whistle stop five-date UK tour – was very special indeed with so much happening on stage that it was often difficult to know where to look.

There was also one of the best moments at a gig you are likely to see this year, when during Cold War the beat was gradually slowed down, Monáe, her band and dancers all lay down on stage, urging the crowd to follow suit which they duly did. Then the music restarted, the performers and audience jumped up as one, the second confetti canon of the night was unleashed and the party atmosphere recommenced. It was an astonishing piece of visual theatre.

This was pure performance, with Kansas-born Monáe (pronounced Mow-nay) and her cohorts all dressed in snappy white shirts and black ties or bowties. Monáe sometimes accessorised this look with a cape or two, and with hair that at the beginning of the show had a quiff that put Elvis to shame but by the end of the night looked more like Sideshow Bob’s barnet.

The only criticism was that some of the incidental elements of the show lasted a bit too long: the initial introduction by a showman in top hat and tails followed by Monáe as her ArchAndroid alter-ego on the big screen filling in on the back story of her album (we were meant to be in 2719).

This didn’t add anything to proceedings, and nor did the extended guitar solo which followed the fabulous first three songs of the night, Dance or Die, Faster and Locked Inside, all blending into one seamless whole.

But the song she sang with just the guitar for company, all the snazzy visuals now replaced by a blank screen, made up for the protracted solo. Her cover of Smile by Nat King Cole was beautiful, and showed that if it boils down to it, without all the razzmatazz Monáe is still a superb singer.

The first confetti canon moment was for the beginning of Wondaland, one of many of her songs that could easily have come from an Outkast album, but probably an Andre 3000 number rather than Big Boi.

On record, Big Boi features on Tightrope, one of the best songs from The ArchAndroid, a concept album that last year featured on an embarrassing number of albums of the year lists. Live, Tightrope started with clapping feet and foot stomping and featured the trombonist and trumpeter at their most adventurous as black and white balloons rained down from the ceiling.

This was an astonishingly vitalic show, without doubt an early contender for gig of the year from one of the best live performers I have had the pleasure of seeing in Bristol. Like Outkast, Monáe could soon hit the stratosphere, especially having recently announced a joint tour across the US with Bruno Mars. We can say we saw her here first.

www.jmonae.com