George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelics Funkadelic Cubby Bear Chicago, IL February 12, 2010

George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelics are an institution in the genre interstellar funk. Watching them perform live is an experience that is not only cool but borders on the absurd. Admittingly it takes some time before you get used to the bandleader being an older man in a diaper.

But that’s all part of the Funkadelic experience. With an indeterminable number of people in the band the night quickly became very free form. By the second song it became clear that singing was purely voluntary and those that wanted to hang around on stage were more than welcome to do so.

Clinton formed the Parliaments in 1955 but it wasn’t until the 1970s that Clinton managed to take their R&B roots and twisting into what would become known as the Funkadelic sound. A fusion of soul, funk, rock and more recently hip-hop the Parliament/ Funkadelics have produced more than 40 hit singles and three platinum albums.

That being said the idea of watching them perform at a venue like the Cubby Bear was a unique opportunity. The sheer size of the band in comparison with the rather small stage meant the night would be one to remember. It turns out I was right, though not for the reasons I thought.

The Funkadelics didn’t come on until a little after 10 p.m. and in no time the stage became a bed of musical chaos. Men in diapers wailed on the guitar, pimps with unusually large noses flicked off the crowd, trumpets blared and the Cubby Bear officially became funked up. On their own the Parliament Funkadelics are worth the price of admission, but the people had come for Clinton.

After almost an hour and a half of stalling Clinton finally took the stage. Maybe it was just because I was up close but he looked like he had just woken up from a long nap. You would never know it from his music but Clinton turned 70 this year and it shows. No one has had a bigger influence on funk music than him but his time in the spotlight may be coming to an end soon.

More myth than man at this point everyone rushed the stage to shake hands with the legend. The band, which had previously ventured into musical chaos, suddenly unified as Clinton took the stage. Nodding and grooving to the music it took quite awhile before he picked up a microphone and actually started singing. And that’s when the shock came; his voice was all but gone.

Of course one of the good things about being surrounded by a funkadelic circus is that there is so much going on no one really notices. Just being on stage was enough to make many in the audience giddy. Clinton posed and played with his fans but seemed to do surprisingly little singing. After going through some fan favorites like “Atomic Dog” and “Maggot Brain” and “Mothership Connection” he faded back into the background.

Now don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a bad show at all, just not what I expected. George Clinton has become the Bob Dylan of funk. He may not be all there and age is undoubtedly catching up with him but at least you can say you’ve seen him in the flesh.

Comments

It's Rex Written by Guest on 2010-02-20 06:29:56 You know Goerge is one of my fav's of all time! Nothing like a 60 minute version of Flashlight to end a set! oh yeah George was old whenI was a kid him and Star Child (Mr. Peep Peep) and Sir nose who lives here. Great article like your ability to move through different types of music and not miss a beat! Keep it flowing!

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