Live Review: George Clinton & The Parliament Funkadelic

It's not exactly an age-old adage but the fact is everybody loves funk and the crowd in Metro City on Thursday night were the perfect embodiment of such a motto. George Clinton, the funk legend (and most sampled artist in history), was in town and brought with him his 22-piece intoxicating touring entourage. Before the crowd got to greet one of the most influential musicians in musical history, Greg Wilson displayed his own prowess during a 90-minute DJ set.

Wilson, a highly accomplished British DJ, transformed his set slowly across genres from Missy Elliot's Work It and Gwen Stefani's Rich Girl all the way to some of house music's classics such as BKS' Living In Ecstasy. Some funk fans may have found themselves internally shouting 'Play That Funky Music White Boy' but Wilson succeeded in entertaining the crowd, especially during the few impromptu jamming sessions with Clinton's guitarist during Chaka Khan's Ain't Nobody.

The energy in the room was explosive when the 22-piece assembly eventually made it to stage accompanied by Mary Griffin's soulful voice and the erratic stylings of Sir Nose, a six-foot contortionist dressed in feathers. Throughout the set performers came and went, hung around, participated when necessary and clearly enjoyed themselves. In fact at one stage there were more vocalists on stage than a chorus line on Les Miserables. George Clinton himself was something to behold as always, wearing a dashing white suit and living up to his legacy. At a ripe old age of 72, he clearly wasn't fit for the whole set but backed up by his psychedelic colleagues, the crowd were still entertained by 9-minute scat sessions, 13-minute guitar jams and eccentric dancing. As Clinton left the stage after 45 minutes, he left his adoring fans with the deep advice: “Free your mind and your ass will follow”.