2008 Woodie Awards
George Clinton funks the Big Easy
Michael McLaskey
Issue date: 3/5/07 Section: Culture
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I found myself at the Ha’Penny beforehand, sipping down a $5 Cinder Cone as I tried to keep my excitement down.
I’d wanted to see Clinton for years and decided that this time around, I would go to his show because he can’t keep touring forever.
George Clinton started his music career in junior high with his Doo-wop Group the Parliaments and its hit, “I Wanna’ Testify” put them on the map in 1967.
George and his ensemble have changed the name and some of the lineup over the years - Garry Shider was still there, singing and dancing in his traditional diaper, but the backup singers looked young enough to have grown up on TLC, rather than Parliament.
Local hip-hop group Kampfire Collective opened the show and I found myself bouncing to its rolling beats and rapid-fire lyrics.
It was my first time seeing them and I thought their sound fell somewhere between 311 and old-school Red Hot Chili Peppers.
At the end of Kampfire’s set, the members stated their purpose and fulfilled it well:
“We’re trying to cover a generational gap - from p-funk to g-funk!”
I heard whispers that George himself was signing shirts and CDs at the merchandise table.
Having spent my last dollar on the Bud Light in my hand, I didn’t feel comfortable approaching him.
He walked right past me as Kampfire was wrapping up and I couldn’t resist myself:
“Mr. Clinton? Your music is awesome, thank you so much.”
I was gushing like a star-struck teen watching the Beatles live on “Ed Sullivan.”
He allowed me to snap a quick picture of us before he rambled up to the Big Easy’s stage.
The group, which ranged from nine to as many as 15 members onstage, performed a rousing version of “Bop Gun” for their opening number, which got me dancing. “Tear the Roof off the Sucker” followed, which jammed into pieces of Lil’ Jon’s hit “Get Low,” which completed the circuit from the older school of funk to the newer school of hip-hop and rap.
After a bizarre rendition of the group’s classic and one of my personal favorites,“Starchild,” the singers all left the stage as Funkadelic shredded one of the longest, satisfying guitar solos I’ve ever heard.
When the P-Funk returned with all its members, the crowd was dancing again with “Flashlight.” Even though the sound gains were a bit high on the horns and bass, which drowned out a lot of the back-up vocals, George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars put on an amazing show, with extravagant costumes, danceable tunes and a four-hour set of funky rhythm and grooves.
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