Aliens, greybeards, funkateers, hipsters, disc jockeys, musos and folks decked out in their Sunday best were all in attendance last week at the Miller High Life Theatre as George Clinton kicked off what is being billed as his final tour as leader of the musical collective that began testifying in New Jersey in the mid ’50s.
Thursday’s One Nation Under a Groove Tour starring George Clinton, Parliament-Funkadelic, Fishbone, Galactic and Miss Velvet & The Blue Wolf promised to be a party to start the weekend off early.
Clinton’s modus operandi has long been the revolving cast of characters who populate the stage during a show and tonight was no exception. Wearing a black tunic and sporting a silver metallic military hat, the General Patton of Funk fronted the guitar-driven, horn-laced band which included 16 singers and musicians onstage by the time he made his way offstage.
The doo wop roots of the Parliaments were never far from the band’s sound. Longtime guitarist DeWayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight and bassist Lige Curry sonically represented Funkadelic, the side of the group that melted rock into funk with the epic “Maggot Brain.” A trio of female vocalists and dancer Sir Nose represented the dance floor grooves of Parliament, while the blast of 1982’s “Atomic Dog” revealed Clinton and company were vital entering the video era and poised for the avalanche of samplers eager to borrow from the master.
But none of that history mattered to the three-ring circus onstage. As with previous Clinton-lead performances, time stopped and the image of the Mothership seemed more than simply a metaphor.
Although Clinton had a chair onstage (Solomon Burke’s throne would certainly have been appropriate as well) for breaks, the nearly 78-year-old ringleader conducted the band as well as the audience in calls and response.
Not surprising, by the time the band had filed offstage and the house lights came up, the audience was still clamoring for more.
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