Just when you thought that George Clinton might be hanging up his microphone, the consummate emcee is back and leading his merry band of funky pranksters. Pre-Covid, P-Funk was touring around the country billing it as George Clinton's farewell tour, including a stop at The Fillmore at Harrah's Casino back in early 2020. But apparently, that decision was put on hold possibly due to the extended shutdown of live music venues across the country. With 15-plus band members in tow, Clinton must feel a bit of responsibility for the lives of these men and women so it's not surprising to see him return to the stage for another tour.
Last night, the venue was Live Nation's other club, the House of Blues, which holds roughly a quarter of the fans that can fit into The Fillmore. If you've been seeing P-Funk for the past thirty years like I have, you've seen some changes in its lead singer. George Clinton is no longer wearing the flowy garb and colorful dreadlocks that were once synonymous with his "look," and he no longer waits fifteen minutes to enter the stage while the other band members jam. On the HOB stage yesterday, Clinton came out singing with the rest of the band wearing a white decorative captain's hat and a Pelicans jersey over his slimmed-down frame.
What hasn't changed is the funky sound on the stage where horns compete with electric guitar riffs for an explosion of noise that kept the sold-out crowd bobbing up and down for the duration of the 3-plus hour show. Clinton doesn't do as much of the heavy lifting that he once did, leaving a lot of the singing to other band members, but unless you're watching the stage, it doesn't really matter as long as it sounds good. And if you're a P-Funk fan, the sound was perfect, as it always is at a House of Blues show.
When George Clinton does finally decide to hang it up, it'll be interesting to see if P-Funk can continue on without him, playing those classic funk standards like "Maggot Brain," "Up For the Down Stroke," "Wants to Get Funked Up," and "Atomic Dog." These days, people pay a lot of money to see the Wailers minus any original members or to see the Maytals without Toots so I'm pretty sure the funk will live on, but it's nice to get one more great night from the big man himself.
