Saturday, March 5, 2011

George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic

George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic made a stop on their 2011 winter tour to perform a sold out show for their first appearance at The Handlebar in Greenville, SC.  Funkin' in full form, George Clinton and his funkateers had the whole house jumpin'. 
 Click photos for large view.

The band covered a wide range of hits from Flashlight to newer songs including Something Stink and I Want Some. George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic has been getting around, including a rockin' television performance at the beginning of the February on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson where George and the gang had the whole audience shaking out of their seats to a super funky groove. The Handlebar show had P-Funk family Mary Griffin pop in and she destroyed it—as in absolutely tearing it up. Without holding back Mary Griffin blazed on the mic showing keeping the band on their toes. Kevin Shider is now touring with the band after the badly missed Garry Shider's passing last summer.   George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic have a few shows lined up for this spring and a performance in London scheduled for June 18.  





Do not miss an opportunity to party on the Mothership—the funk is it's own reward!  Belita Woods and Kendra Foster took the lead on the mic as did George Clinton.  Ricky Rouse performed a crowd pleasing guitar solo with Jimi Hendrix antics including getting to the edge of the stage on his knees leaning back and playing his guitar with his teeth.  Frankie Kash Waddy and Rico Lewis alternated on the drums.  Robert P-Nut Johnson sang, Carlos 'Sir Nose' McMurray danced and Gene 'Poo Poo Man' Anderson came out in his alternate personalities.  Greg Thomas and Bennie Cowan blazed on brass holding down the P-Funk horns.  Michael Clip Payne, MC'ing and singing announced that Greg Thomas has 30 years under his belt performing with the band.  







Steve Boyd, Linda Shider, Michael 'Kidd Funkadelic' Hampton and Shaunna Hall and more of Parliament Funkadelic kept the stage packed at all times during the night but at one point a bunch from the audience and friends of the band took to the stage.  George Clinton switched outfits wearing both a bright red sports jacket with matching baseball hat and also a gray sports jacket with an old school matching fedora hat.  With Danny Bedrosian performing on keyboards, Lige Curry on bass and Patricia Walker singing, Parliament Funkadelic showed the crowd the funk is not about holding back.








































George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic Tour Dates
Mar 18, 2011 Friday     7:45 PM     Gibson Amphitheatre   Universal City, CA
Mar 19, 2011 Saturday  7:30 PM     PLANET HOLLYWOOD   Las Vegas, NV
Apr 7, 2011 Thursday    8:00 PM     Gilley's Dallas   Dallas, TX
Apr 8, 2011 Friday       8:00 PM     Arena Theatre   Houston, TX
Apr 13, 2011 Wednesday   8:00 PM     The Bijou Theatre   Knoxville, TN
May 31, 2011 Tuesday   8:30 PM     BB kings   New York, NY
Jun 18, 2011 Saturday     8:00 PM     HMV Kentish Town Forum   London


More George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic photos:





and more from The Handlebar in Greenville

George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic 2/15/2011


Sunday, February 27, 2011

BASSNECTAR AT BASS CENTER 2

BASS CENTER 2
Bassnectar Festival also featuring Ana Sia, Filastine and The Glitch Mob
 Saturday, February 19, 2011 at the Asheville Civic Center in Asheville, NC

Written by Fox Johnson 
             


Bass can hardly even describe the truly surreal experience gained by attending a Bassnectar show; perched at the forefront of electronic music. As I have witnessed before, Bassnectar can bring huge crowds into a frenzy of (brilliantly woven, beat-infused) ecstasy. Joining Bassnectar at Bass Center 2 was The Glitch Mob, Ana Sia and Filastine. Although this was a smaller venue holding around 7,000 people; it was sold out in advance like Bass Center 1.  I should mention Lorin Ashton's (aka: Bassnectar) birthday on this day; to make this an even more delectable show.
Click Photos for Large View

Click for more Bass Center 2 photos with Bassnectar at Performance Impressions with slide show.

Usually when coming in sight of a music venue the night of a show, you will start to hear the rumble from inside. When Bassnectar unleashed on Asheville, NC; buildings and sidewalks rattled throughout most of the modest downtown area. I felt the bass tremors from where I had parked six blocks away. While following these alluring tremors, I knew this would be exactly what we all needed to launch out of winter's enduring cocoon. This would be a night of transcendental Bassnectar infused alchemy. 

The Glitch Mob




Entering the arena at a Bassnectar show is akin: to attending a costume party with David Bowie, while being led through an inter dimensional sonic vortex by hot fairy girls who seem to survive purely on glitter and beats. As I came into this sparkling entangled circus of debauchery The Glitch Mob was furiously entertaining the already full arena. So full that the main floor was shut off early from most people trying to enter it temporarily because it was packed. All of that and the night was just beginning. This is what a Bassnectar show is all about.

When Bassnectar took over the stage, he immediately elevated the already well-primed crowd into a bass-induced fervor. The arena quickly launched into an ethereal orbit, with Bassnectar at the electronic helm delivering exactly what his fans wanted.  There was an atmosphere that pulsed and writhed, as (blissed out bass heads all found their groove of shear delight. 



As any Bassnectar fan knows part of what to expect is a tremendously involving multimedia show. There were two things that are standout this night. One was what was being projected on the screen directly behind Bassnectar, there was a narrative of some native people's involved in wildly moving ceremony. It was well used in the buildup on this night. The other awesome production were decorated swings lowered from the ceiling to scoop up elaborately costumed acrobatic dancers who then soared over the crowd in a beautifully playful sequence. To these things and so much more at Bass Center 2, the crowd responded with a seemingly endless thirst for the intoxicating sounds laid down by Bassnectar.

Happy Birthday Bassnectar with many thanks for sharing it with us. Without question, whether you see him in Australia or Tennessee, Bassnectar always transcends and elevates electronic music to new horizons. 



















































Animated Time Lapse - Click Photo to Play















Animated Time Lapse - Click Photo to Play




Click for one more time lapse of Bassnectar at Bass Center 2