CityLife

SWAP '06: George Clinton @ Academy 1

15/07/06

WHEN a man well into his 60s, takes to the stage at 8.30pm on a Saturday, you would usually think that it was so he could finish early, perhaps catch a rather unfunny old sitcom on cable TV and then get himself tucked up in bed with a good book and a cup of Horlicks.

But, the man taking to the stage in this case was not just any old pensionable figure. It was George Clinton. And if he was ever going to retire to his bed on Saturday, then he was going to be doing it very loudly and probably long after I had called it a night.

For nigh on 40 years, Clinton has been the master of in-your-face, unashamedly over-the-top funk. And this show proved he had no intention of ageing gracefully.

Dressed, as ever, in what looked like clothes discarded by footballers' wives, and with enough energy to power the lightshow single-handedly, he ripped into his back catalogue of nuggets from his Parliament and Funkadelic history ably abetted by the fantastic Bernie Worrell on bass.

By the end of the rather sweaty proceedings, it was me rather than big George who was thinking fondly of a nice, relaxing lie down.

Were you at the show? Tell us what you thought.