George Clinton retiring from P-Funk

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Even though P-Funk will continue on, I'm not sure one can really be P-Funk without Dr. Funkenstein. 

https://www.relix.com/news/detail/george_clinton_will_retire_from_p_funk_in_2019

His role in the band (at least on stage) has been dialed back more and more as he has got older.   Last few P-Funk shows I have seen, he comes out for only part of the show, sort of looks around, and may sing a few verses here and there.  His voice is also shot to hell.  

He has plenty of hot young players that will carry the banner well.

When I saw them a few months back here, he stayed on the stage for the whole show, over 3 hours.  Impressive for a 77 year old.  They have a lot of dates booked for this year both here in the States and in Europe.  I hope he holds up ok.  He's fortunate to have a great wife.  Met her at the show here, and she obviously cares a lot about George.  

Glad I finally saw them, as they might not make it back to Seattle.  They had 26 musicians on stage for the show here.  Does he take that many to Europe with him?  The logistics and costs of a crew that big must be staggering.

His role in the band (at least on stage) has been dialed back more and more as he has got older.   Last few P-Funk shows I have seen, he comes out for only part of the show, sort of looks around, and may sing a few verses here and there.  His voice is also shot to hell.  

He has plenty of hot young players that will carry the banner well.

I agree with all that you wrote. While there are plenty of players who can carry on with the P-Funk mission, let's face facts...Clinton is the fountain from which that funk flows. Even with his shot voice, he still is the cosmic ringleader. 

There was a touring version in 1998 just called 'Parliament', featuring several members from the '77 Mothership tour - but no George.

It was the best funk show I've ever seen. The band (many younger) were hot to play and tore the roof off.

Whoever these guys were, they were absolutely killer. The show had a 70's look and vibe (as opposed to the more modern 'gangsta-ish' - looking P-Funk).

When I did see George in 2003, he sucked hard, and the band went through like, a dozen member changes during the show, which made it uneven.

So while it might not be the same without George as ringleader, the band will carry on and continue to kick ass in various forms without him. As already witnessed.

I saw Bootsy's band a while ago (1994) and they tore the roof off the sucker.   As funky as any of the half-dozen or so P-Funk shows I have seen.  Wonder if he is still touring?

>>>>a dozen member changes during the show, 

I saw P-Funk at the Oregon Gardens and was able to see back stage.  They had what was essentially a baseball dugout lined with various rappers, pimps, and other freeky people waiting for their time to come up on stage and do their thing.

Oh Well ________ Sorry Negan

It's cool.  I haven't played with them in a couple of years.  

 

 

I saw him a lot in the 90's, probably 20 times. He totally brought it, the term ring leader fits him well. Last time was mid 2000's and I wished I had put more energy into seeing him in this decade but I really haven't gotten out much since procreating. And yes Bootsy is still playing and toured last year. Go see him! I think the show in 1998 was 'the original P' and had some alumni that George had alienated...

Original P was the other 4 Parliaments.  

caught them a few years back, and honestly i didnt really get it. i love the classic albums, and early live stuff with bootsy, but when i saw them live recently it seemed like a whole lot of showboating, hooping and hollering. including clinton there were like two other guys there who didnt really do anything except hype up the crowd, all of the music was super disjointed and generally the focus seemed to be on being silly and saying funky things in funky voices than actually playing music. not my bag.

i saw them with flylo, shabazz palaces, and thundercat at the fox...i mostly went for p-funk, they were my least favorite by a longshot. however thundercat was fucking amazing.

Early albums didn't have Bootsy.  Billy Nelson was the bass player.  And Boogie.