Sitemeter Sez: Zurich, Switzerland and Missoula, Montana.
ROCK against Reaganomics at: Theater X-Net
Starring: Ida Rubinstein Belle Epoch Russian/Parisian beauty.
Ida's Places in Paris -- from my first jet-lagged day by the Seine.
Read more about Ida in Sisters of Salome by Toni Bentley
Visit: Michael's Montana Web Archive
Theater, Art, Flash Gordon, Funky Music and MORE!
NEW --Launching NOW! Outre Space Cinema -- Featuring: 1930's Rocketry, Spitfires of the Spaceways and Cellulose to Celluloid, Flash Gordon in the Saturday Matinees and Sunday Comics.
Many thanks to Jim Keefe (Visit his Website) -- the LAST Flash Gordon illustrator of the 20th Century, and Flash's first illustrator of the 21st, for his recommendations -- HERE!
Charity Alert: Check into Terra Sigilata blog -- donate $$$ to cancer patients just by clicking onto the site. Keep that Resolution to click on The Hunger Site every day.
In The Community: Retouching old Glacier National Park photos (digitally) for the Hockaday Museum of Art.
Check out Fall for Glacier -- a fundraiser for several programs that make Glacier National Park even better!
Concert Reviews: George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars at the "Orange Peel" in Asheville, North Carolina
Chuck (Pookie) Jackson said: Just got back from another world
The Asheville NC funk mob got funked with an 4 hour marathon funk DNA injection. 9:30pm- 1:30pm cobwebs still in the mind this morning. there was a Pookie and Bustin Bob sighting. UGA's Main Man on the Hardwood also made the trip to Ash Vegas.
Set list...they played everything, damn o
Got to see the Ricky Rouse show. trust me its not Bird, or Mike and that's a good thing, When they are gone they are missed. Ricky streached out and brought a sonic mind bending proformance...he is to be appreciated and watched closely, there is personal magic within the assault.
Maggot Brain was pure with some Ricky Rouse Sauce added for his personal flavor. truly inspiring....
My headline of the night: CLINTON ENDORSES OBAMA LOL Pookie
For my European and Asian readers -- Barack Obama won the Democratic Party's primary election in North Carolina by a landslide that very same day.
The next rather lengthy post by a long-time supporter meditates about the fact that my friend Michael (Kidd Funkadelic) Hampton, and his fellow axe-master Dwayne (Blackbyrd) McKnight didn't play this particular show.
Bustin' Bob said -- Stanky and skunky on an Asheville hill
This is by far the stankest crowd I've ever seen or er smelt at a funk show. I am talking bout muggs in Asheville ain't bathing. Around dang near air corner I caught a whiff of strong musk and strong skunk. At one point one of these self-styled 'granola' folks standing in line at the pizza line was so funky, that caked on funk. It ws 420 in the mugg too.
Peeeeeeeeeeeee-U!!!
And the band got funky. Real funky with 4 hours of high octane in yer earhole hip shaking groove. By the time I got up enuf verve to go down in the foxhole towads the nether regions of the set the Parliament had settled down into a vamping roaring version of MotherShip Connection that had this already stanky crowd sweating out even more musk. The show had a turbo feel to it, started off slow and kinda shaky but when charger spooled up there was a bottomless pit of vibe and energy out there. Big ups to Pookie who put me up in the bat cave for a night. Seems he had to dust off his funk express card for this one and although we both were somewhat leery when we got to the gig and realized not only had we no Byrd, but alas, Tha' Kidd failed to make the gig as well.
The unit settled into a fairly formulatic rendition of the usual opener, in fact when they hit Funkenetelchy I was back there at the pizza like taking in all that musk. We were over directly stage left thru the first few Parliament numbers. Pookie thought Lige's bass solo was a bit ,shall we say disjointed, and said Boogie gave him a wtf is this look!!!LOL. Although it hit hard, I must say the Funkadelic material went over much betta lass nite. Pookie was worried if he was gonna get his guitar army fix early on because we could barely hear 'em over there.
Then all of a sudden here comes Cosmic Slop and that chyt was an invasion. Clip was getting his rap on dang near air where in the club 'cept that stage we finally found him and a cordless mic back around the sound board as he annouced to the crowd 'are y'all ready for the FREAK SHOW'.
Now I know I've said my share of opine on the Ricky Rouse thang. He absolutely destroyed the Slop to show mah black a**e this ain't no Funkadelic lite n*g*a. That m**o was just lit up all nite long. He literallly played his a-hole out last nite. All them guitar players took that thang waaaaay up a few notches, Shider played alot especially during Starchild Swing Low, Shawna, RonKat , Boogie who was MIA at a few stages in the set. Trey Lewd picked up on one and started going for his left handed pluckin' too. But......there was still somn missing.
I said let me go over here to see just what this cheet is sounding like out in the crowd so I ventured forth and could almost handle it not. Just a huge wall of FUNKADELIC. I was dang near knocked to mah knees by the big bold bad clean mix only to look back up to the stage and here comes the Dr. You betta call him cuz he definitely had the proscription tonight.
The toxic needgrow was awesome. Jumping around leading chants dances.
Next thing I know here comes this psychedelic chicken scratch thang coming up from Rouse and it was on. I Got A Thang. The energy level got took way up in an instant. They pounded that chyt. No Byrd, no Hampton. The chyt was overpowering. But......there was still somn missing.
By the time that big old chyt-eating grin permeated my face over this OLD FUNK, he comes up with You and Your Folks. I dang near fell out. They pounded the chyt. Ricky Rouse and Garry then took Red Hot Mama into the stratosphere into some places I had not ever seen it go but............somn was missing.
Flashlight I think Carlos got the mic and went for broke here. Knee Deep at a good tempo and Ricky took the Hampton solo into some other areas as well and then gave the crowd one of the simmering smoldering versions of Maggot Brain I've ever heard. Playing behind the back, teeth, it was at a faster tempo than Mike usually plays it and it shone brightly and he and Rico TORE THAT MAGGOT BRAIN UP, but......there was somn missing. Dr. took off after his Obama endorsement but his Biological Speculation America Eats rap was def on point.
Diaper man regrouped the troops and lauched into One Nation hell it cooked like a mugg too. Then they hit Standing on the Verge I think it was approching about the 3 hour mark at this point and that crowd was wore out but did not thin out. The band looked to be in good spirits and very energetic not worn down like they can be sometimes, Boyd, Kendra, Paul Hill Jerome and Danny brought smiles and energy all nite.
All of a sudden heres comes Bustin Loose and Pumpin It Up, man I am telling you this shyt was burning hott. Lige was poppin' that Pumpin' bass line like mad. GC came back out there and hit Give Up the Funk, the place was pandemic at this point. Funkin' like it was no tommorow. Down Stroke followed with Poo Poo and Kendra doing there thang.
I think that crowd thought it was gonna be over with but, the muggs have a nerve to hit me with Mothership Connection. Pookie and I were at the back and they had wore my black a**e out but with a crack of 'If you hear any noise' I had to get offa my ass and jam and was sucked into the foxhole to do my duty for Uncle Jam and mah bootay. It was finally starting to thin out in there. Lige, Ronkat, Shawna, and Garry had that groove on a lock down.
When they hit Swing Low it was similar to that arrangement they used to close them 90s shows with that vocal chant from Martial Law, doo dooooo dooo da dada da da daaa. It was sounding damm good too. Them guitars were taking the chyt all the way but.....somn was still missing. Then they rounded that chyt up and started taking a bow and the crowd had been taken up a notch and were waiting for the killer blow and here it came in the form of Atomic Dog. Clinton was in this zone. How he seems to get when that shyt is just formless funkin they were looking out there at us and that chyt seemed to take on a life of its own. Stage filled up with the dancing girls gone wild and then poof the Dr. disappeared and Garry hit em with Free Your Mind and again the guitars sizzled and crackled with an almost unbelievable unfathomnable volume but......somn was still missing.
Bennie and Greg blew their lungs out all nite too and throughout the set all kinds of grooves and chants would pop up out of nowhere during the songs. Like I say it was a funky situation all around. It was like a big blur, the chyt is still coming black to me in bits and pieces. I am almost positive for the funk there is something in that set list I failed to mention.
