Under the enduring leadership of George Clinton, the look and feel of the legendary Parliament-Funkadelic has changed significantly since their last Ottawa performance 15 years ago. Taking it to the main stage on the second night of the 10-day Ottawa Jazz Festival, the twin New Jersey collectives delivered the funk to throngs of concertgoers who braved ceaseless rain to shake their booties.
Billed as George Clinton's Farewell Tour, the 2024 version of Parliament-Funkadelic brings together a mix of next-generation P-Funk members alongside a few 1970s alums — an unconventional ensemble grasping to embrace the eccentric persona that has defined Clinton's career.
Opening their performance with the iconic keyboard and vocal run of Funkadelic's "(Not Just) Knee Deep," later sampled on De La Soul's "Me Myself and I," the band launched into a 15-minute opus. This allowed classic member Michael "Kidd Funkadelic" Hampton, the only musician on stage inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame aside from Clinton, to shred his guitar on the song's legendary solo.
Showcasing the younger members of the band, Parliament-Funkadelic kept the groove going with their rendition of Parliament's classic "Flash Light," allowing the towering backup singer Uché to take over the lead and completely command the stage with his enthralling vocals and stage presence.
Melding fan favourites like "One Nation Under a Groove" and "P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)" with deeper cuts like "Cosmic Slop" and a rare live performance of "Sexy Ways" allowed Clinton to provide a platform for his bandmates, including the three-person horn section of Greg Thomas, Bennie Cowan and Greg Boyer, all of whom appeared on the original Parliament's 1980 album Trombipulation. Showcasing their improvisational skills, Boyer would move into snippets from the themes of the Odd Couple and Pink Panther films.
An extended version of the Funkadelic classic "Maggot Brain" left the crowd divided, with hardcore fans blown away by Hampton's note-for-note facsimile of Eddie Hazel's unbridled guitar soloing and others uninterested in a 15-minute instrumental. To get the crowd off their seats, Clinton followed with a cover of House of Pain's 1992 hip hop crowd-pleaser "Jump Around" and his solo hit (and inspiration for Snoop Dogg's 1993 smash "Who Am I? (What's My Name?)") "Atomic Dog," featuring vocals and rapping from background singers Bouvier and Clinton's granddaughter Tonysha Nelson.
Winding down the two-hour set with Funkadelic's "Get Off Your Ass and Jam," the 82-year-old Clinton proved to the soaked yet buoyant Ottawa crowd his ongoing stature as music's greatest MC, still curating a collection of the world's finest funk weirdos and showcasing them to the masses.