George Clinton with Parliament Funkadelic and Fishbone at the Brooklyn Bowl, Sunday August 18, 2019

 I've been a fan of Parliament Funkadelic since the 70's, but for some reason (probably finances), I never got a chance to see them so when we heard about George Clinton's farewell tour with PF, we had to check it out! Apparently, this Vegas show was supposed to be his final gig with them but he then added more dates, so we didn't see the grand finale, but it was pretty damn great regardless!

Due to the Brooklyn Bowl's policy of not listing any set times, we had no idea when anyone was playing, but we knew we didn't want to be there all night long, so we ended up getting there just before Fishbone went on - missing the openers Dumpstaphunk (who we heard good things about) and Miss Velvet and the Blue Wolf. I understand their policy from their point of view, but it's kind of a drag from the client's point of view. Ah well...

Fishbone is a band that I have never cared for as goofy ska variations do nothing for me, but this evening they were far more funk-oriented and they put on a fab show! Singer Angelo appeared in the audience and unfurled a Fishbone "Fuck Racism" flag and paraded to the stage waving this as the band opened with an almost Cab Calloway-ish ode to Trump's fuckin' of our country. The band was hot'n'tight - guitar, bass (playing both acoustic and electric), keys, a backing singer/horn player, a drummer that played with his back to the crowd and Angelo, who provided lead vocals, acrobatics and a number of horns, including a comically large baritone saxophone. He also used a theremin on several tunes, at times turning it into a scratch instrument, as well as the usual outer space sounds. The set was surprisingly short (although with three opening bands, I suppose they needed to be brief), but it was chock full of funky jams from start to finish. Really fun time!

 (above photo by Melanie Coffee)

 After a bit of time for the change-over, Parliament Funkadelic started with the basic band groovin' on a funky, guitar-driven jam (as they are wont to do) before the stage was overtaken by more people than we could count - close to 20 at one point! George Clinton, of course, was the band leader, adorned in a Sun Ra-ish golden outfit, and he was joined by numerous singers, some rappers, horns, and a trio of lovely women, including a stand-out with a white afro and a skimpy outfit who sang lead on a couple of numbers - she seemed to be (rightfully) groomed for a solo career. I have a limited amount of their records, so I was not familiar with most of the songs performed other than "One Nation Under a Groove" and "Flashlight", but it didn't matter, as the whole set was one big party! Two basses provided the heavy groove behind the variety of performers, some dressed to the teeth, some in t-shirts, some barely clothed! The Bowl was packed for them and with them all the way!

As it was a Sunday night, by the time it passed midnight, we were pretty wiped (some seating would be nice in this place, as well, for us old folks), so we split before the culmination of the eve, but still left with a smile on our faces and a groove in our heart! Thank you George for decades of fine, soulful funk!

(Rob Bell informs me that they did a medley of some hits and a grand finale of "Atomic Dog"! I'm sure that was wild - wish we could have stayed but this morning came way too soon as it was!)