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Taken from The News-Press (May 07, 2018)
Review: George Clinton gets funky in Bonita Springs with Parliament-Funkadelic
George Clinton brought the P-Funk party to Bonita Springs with his incredibly tight, incredibly loud and — most of all — incredibly FUNKY band.
by Charles Runnells, The News-Press
George Clinton performed May 3 with Parliament-Funkadelic at Southwest Florida Event Center in Bonita Springs. PhotoCredit: Charles Runnells |
Honestly, I didn’t think Southwest Florida Event Center could handle this much funk. But it did.
Oh yes, it did.
George Clinton and about 18 members of Parliament-Funkadelic crammed onto the stage May 3 at the Bonita Springs concert venue. And they all fit — just barely.
That’s OK, though. Despite a stage packed with drums, guitars, horns, microphone stands and more funk than should be humanly possible, Clinton and company managed to make themselves at home. The P-Funk mastermind even drank a little wine offered by an audience member in the front row.
“Are y’all ready to fly on the Mothership?” a grinning Clinton asked us.
The answer, of course, was yes.
If you missed last week’s show, you missed a lot. Clinton brought the P-Funk party to Bonita Springs with his incredibly tight, incredibly loud and — most of all — incredibly funky band.
And no one seemed to have more fun than the man, himself.
Sure, he spent a lot of time sitting down onstage — or even sitting offstage and out of sight of the audience. But give the man a break: He’s 76 years old.
Much of the time, Clinton let P-Funk do most of the work. And that’s just fine when they’re as awe-inspiring as this version of his iconic band. They hit hard and often approached a heavy-metal intensity with extended guitar and horn solos, thundering drum beats, sexy dancers, dreadlocks swirling to the beat, audience chant-alongs and a hard-partying atmosphere.
And Clinton was there for every sweaty, funky note. Even when he wasn’t singing or urging us to “get off our ass and jam,” he still grinned and tapped his feet and mugged for the audience and had an absolute blast.
Sixty-one years into his music career, Clinton still loves the music. And that enthusiasm was contagious.
The nearly 2½-hour show featured plenty of rock-funk classics such as “Flash Light,” “Atomic Dog,” “Cosmic Slop” and a 10-minute (at least) version of the iconic instrumental “Maggot Brain.” Plus some of Clinton’s excellent new P-Funk songs, including “Pole Power” a pop-metal version of “Get Low” and the just released “I'm Gon Make U Sick O’ Me” (the first new song under the Parliament name in 38 years).
There was even an appearance by P-Funk character Sir Nose D’Avoidoffunk in his white fur pants, long fake nose and an oversized sparkly belt buckle that said simply “NOSE.” He strutted around the stage, did some impressive acrobatics and showed off an amazing set of abs (seriously, I need to know this guy’s workout routine).
The show was intense, super-fun and easily one of the best Southwest Florida concerts of the year. Sadly, it also might be Clinton’s last Southwest Florida show, too. He’s retiring from the road in 2019.
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