"Welcome to the world of the funkadelic," the keyboardist for the P-Funk All-Stars said last night, taking the stage in Leede Arena. George Clinton, the famed father of funk, monopolized the mike soon after as a crowd of about 1,000 onlookers joined in the hype movement.
The concert drew in a unusually diverse crowd -- Dean of the College Lee Pelton and his wife could be spotted in the balcony.
But middle-aged couples and the energetic adolescents alike would have agreed, without question, that the evening was a loud and constantly engaging one.
Loud were the individual performers, a vibrantly dread-locked Clinton leading the bandwagon with flash, though he was often upstaged by the pelvic gyrations and suggestive acrobatics of a member of his band, a certain Sir Long Nose.
Parliament and the Funkadelic followed Clinton obediently from the Soul Train era, arriving at the College untainted, though perhaps a bit more colorful.
Loud was the funk itself. The rhythm of Clinton and the All- Stars pulsed with the groove, meshed with the blues and sang through a three piece horn section.
Give all of this some time, and the prospect of a catchy tune has long since left the listener.
It required a bit of soul-searching, if you will.
Somewhere in the middle, however, "Up for the Down Strok," and "Tear the Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk)" were codified and became highly motivational performances. The crowd jumped, clapped and swayed upon demand.
Loud was the concert's blatant political agenda.
Their proposition to "Free your mind ..." and its ensuing idealism rang clear, at times piercing the various comfort levels of certain members of the audience.
"Education is our only salvation," uttered by Clinton, was a surprising sentiment yet one very well received.
The pace might have slowed substantially, but the volume remained unfaltering as female vocalist Belita Woods was given the limelight, followed by solo guitarists Andre Williams and Blackbird McKnight.
The funk was seemingly replaced, for a time, by a moody Pink Floyd-style performance.
A low-key groove by Clinton provided the transition thereafter, as the noticeably smaller crowd was swept back into its initial frenzy.
What took place last night was an all-around good time.
Another Sunday night so provocative and entertaining might be unprecedented here in Hanover.
Perhaps those that left just did not know what had hit them or did not care to partake in the so very out-of-the ordinary dance that consumed Leede for nearly three hours.
