Oct 10
11
Parliament Funkadelic – The Mothership Connection Live 1976 DVD
Wow. Before viewing this I had only a passing interest in the very particular funk of Parliament Funkadelic. Sure, I liked some “Flashlight” now and again, but never enough to prompt a proper purchase. When I saw there was video footage of a show from 1976 I was intrigued both from a historical standpoint and also a funk standpoint. I knew there was something, some cosmic reason I should be acquiring this DVD…
The Mothership Connection Live 1976 documents a single show on Halloween night in Houston, TX, 1976. If you thought George Clinton and his crew were weird on a normal, non Halloween night you haven’t seen anything yet. Men in diapers, overly sized sombreros, and even the landing of a full sized mothership all make an already strange affair even stranger…and funkier.
The night kicks off with a smoking version of “Cosmic Slop” that threatens to careen out of control at any moment. The bass and drums provide a stunningly solid backdrop for lead guitarist Michael Hampton to fly over top with his otherworldly solos. At times the song rocks so hard it’s no longer funky, and yet, with George Clinton in 1976 everything is funky. Riff after riff, Hampton brings some incredibly heavy leads to the jam which seems to keep growing as the song progresses.
Listening as I write this I can’t believe just how funky “Do That Stuff” is, its funky refrain guaranteed to get stuck in our heads for days. The band, featuring James Brown alumni Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley, is tight as drum and funky as possible. I don’t think it’s possible to describe just how funky everything is without seeing it, and try as I may I just can’t find the words. The enthusiasm shared among band members is almost mesmerizing. I mean, it is funky with a capital ‘F’ and then some.
As the night continues we are treated to incredibly funky and lively renditions of “Gamin’ On Ya’!,” a particularly heavy “Standing on the Verge of Getting It On,” and the rousing disco funk of “Undisco Kid.” The band is on fire throughout and fully incorporated into Clinton’s particular sense of madness. If things ended right here I would still be happy, because everything that has come so far has just been off the wall funky and pure entertainment. But of course, things were just getting started…
When the band breaks into “Mothership Connection” all hell breaks loose and the band, as well as the audience, seems to become forever changed. Somehow, amidst all the crazy, hazy funk of everything going on, George Clinton and company bring us a truly ethereal life altering event. Somehow, inexplicably, singer Glenn Goins channels the true spirit of funk, the true spirit of everything that is real, and cuts through the mix with an emotional soul review as the Mothership literally lands on the stage. Everything you thought that music was suddenly become null and void and the only thing that matters is Goins’ impassioned vocals.
When the Mothership finally lands…well, you can’t help but be moved in your soul. It is one of the most emotional and wholly satisfying things I have ever witnessed in my life and I can only imagine what the near hysterical crowd was feeling. Goosebumps? Yes…and then some.
“P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)” slinks by with a late night jazz fluency that is quite superb thanks to the dueling tandem of Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker, the low lying groove turning a funky corner when the drums and bass kick in. Meanwhile, Clinton leads the band and the audience through some general weirdness that explodes into the eternally heavy funk of “Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker).” The groove here is undeniable as it grows in a mesmerizing and hypnotic funk intensity, the entire band locked into a serious groove. It is simply awesome.
“Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples” features the entire band, and I mean the entire band, up on stage cavorting with openers Sly & The Family Stone and Bootsy Collins & His Rubber Band. There must be, oh, about a million people up on stage singing, dancing, playing, and funking the night away in a display of such madness that is must be brilliance. The band ends the night on a funky note with the almost refreshing “Funkin’ For Fun,” leaving the Houston crowd in awe of what has just transpired.
The Mothership Connection Live 1976 is simply too stunning for words and only by viewing can you fully appreciate it. It is funky without apology and at times seems so ridiculous it’s almost as if it never really happened. But happen it did, and the Mothership really did land that Halloween night…delivering the Funk for all of us to enjoy. Just awesome!
Tracklist
- “Cosmic Slop”
- “Do That Stuff”
- “Gamin’ On Ya”
- “Standing on the Verge of Getting It On”
- “Undisco Kidd”
- “Children Of Production”
- “Mothership Connection (Star Child)”
- “Swing Down Sweet Chariot”
- “Dr. Funkenstein”
- “Comin’ Round The Mountain”
- “P-Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up)”
- “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)”
- “Night Of The Thumpasorus Peoples”
- “Funkin’ For Fun”
