Tag: funk

Parliament Funkadelic at Ventura Music Hall shot by Jeff Tillquist

How to Humanize an Alien: Parliament Funkadelic at Ventura Music Hall

Rob Shepyer May 5, 2025

Thanks to Ventura Music Hall and George Clinton, Parliament Funkadelic was up until Monday, a bucket list band that needed to get checked off my list if I was really to consider myself a music junkie. Now, in a totally changed state of mind since seeing them perform classic songs like “Flashlight”, “Atomic Dog”, “We Got The Funk”, and more, I’ve been feeling this strange sense of nostalgia for a time I didn’t even exist in. That time I’m so fondly recalling through videos, images, and oral tradition was the seventies. At the time, pop culture was more colorful, vivid, imaginative, and real. Forced to create practical magic and effects if artists wanted to make concerts feel out of this world, groups like Parliament Funkadelic constructed UFOs that would land on stage and release a cavalcade of alien crazies upon the audience, all dressed and sounding completely unique from one another to create a funk jam session akin to stream of consciousness power poetry. It was in the seventies, back when a heavily dreaded George Clinton produced acid-inspired rollercoaster rides that ranged from metallic to soulful to downright religious, that Clinton and his band were at their peak-alieness. Today, as

Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow: Funk the Influence at the Lodge Room Highland Park

Janky Smooth Central Command February 13, 2020

Words by: William McBee Photos by: Jessica Moncrief Last Saturday began like most weekends do, sleeping in, laying awake, starting the day off slow. I was thinking of how to organize my day and did some mindless scrolling on social media when I came across the flyer for “Funk The Influence” with guest speakers George Clinton and Flea. I asked myself “How could I not go to a symposium featuring the Godfather of Funk and one the greatest bass players of all time?” I pulled the trigger and rushed down to Highland Park to see what all the hype was about. related content: Long Live The Funk: George Clinton And Parliament Funkadelic At The Observatory When I arrived at The Lodge Room, Gorangatang was performing. The duo consisted of a rapper and a didgeridoo player. I enjoyed every second of their deep grooving funky jam. It was my first experience witnessing a didgeridoo and I instantly loved it. The set was followed by a branding panel that included Hairstylist Maisha Oliver, Designer Melody Ehsani and DJ/producer Clinton Sparks. While I was hoping for more music, the conversation between the panelists kept me engaged and intrigued. Clinton Sparks spoke to the audience

The Mother Dome Connection: Funk Legends at Wisdome.LA

Rob Shepyer January 22, 2020

As hard as people try to make sure the funk never dies, it is often hard to find in Los Angeles. Yet, one evening under Wisdome.LA‘s “Mother Dome” brought together numerous legends of the genre to jam and pay tribute to Funk history. No other form of music brings people together quite like funk does, you can’t reason why we all shouldn’t get along if you’re too busy gettin’ down. related content: Long Live The Funk: George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic At The Observatory I remember when the property that the multiple Wisdome’s sit on was nothing more than a few warehouses you might pass by on the way to The Resident. It’s amazing how they utilized the space for an immersive experience with so many different things to do on the premises from admiring art, tripping out to dome visuals, listening to live music, watching sporting events, food and drink, and plenty of psychedelic and new age things to buy or gaze at for burners, trippers, Desert Daze or Lightning in a Bottle kids. The potential for this venue is limitless, once they start booking major psych acts like King Gizzard or Mac DeMarco, they will really have something

Long Live The Funk: George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic at the Observatory

Jessica Moncrief September 6, 2018

George Clinton has come a long way since forming The Parliaments as a teenager in a barbershop in Plainfield. Since the beginning of his career, the legendary godfather of funk has been making music and inspiring young creatives for more than 6 generations. In April of this year, he announced that he would be bidding farewell to the stage with a world wide tour in 2018. While the news is saddening, hanging up his hat in style with around 50 golden years of touring seems more than appropriate. While walking up to The Observatory I heard a group of teenage girls chatting when one exclaimed, “This is the best ever, my heart is so full right now!” I’m sure it was the molly talking, but I couldn’t help but reminisce about my own first time seeing Parliament in 1998. Some shows change the course of your history much like Parliament has for the modern face of music, seeing George Clinton had a huge impact on my personal passion for live music as well and happened to actually be my very first show to be guest-listed. related content: Summertime In The LBC: Love Letter To A City That Doesn’t Always

Take This: Win 2 Tickets to George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic at OC Observatory

Janky Smooth Central Command August 17, 2018

You wanted the funk, well the Observatory is bringing it with George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic on October 3oth. Experience the Mothership Connection for their final tour because after this George is off to a galaxy far, far away for who knows how long. Janky Smooth is proud to give you the chance to catch this icon and musical genius perform funk classics with his legendary band. Bow wow wow yippee yo yippe yay. YOU CAN BUY TICKETS HERE OR. ENTER TO WIN 2 TICKETS TO GEORGE CLINTON & PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC AUGUST 30th at The Observatory Step 1- Join Our Newsletter (look for pop up everytime you arrive at jankysmooth.com) Step 2- Share or RT this or giveaway post or Tag a Friend in the comment section of any of our INSTAGRAM George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic Giveaway Post WINNER WILL BE WILL BE SELECTED ON MONDAY AUGUST 20th AT 11AM PST VIA EMAIL CONFIRMATION

Black is Beautiful: Smokin’ Grooves Festival at The Queen Mary

Aria Silva-Espinosa June 22, 2018

Gates to the Smokin’ Grooves festival opened bright and early on Saturday morning with artists playing as early as 11:00am. There’s always a special group of people who hit the festival grounds as soon as gates open, intent on getting the full 12-hour experience but the early crowd gathering on the water’s edge consisted largely of people with young children. Relaxed vibes, diverse music and a behaviorally mature crowd sets Smokin’ Grooves apart from other festivals because it appeals to a broad spectrum of music fans. Headlined by timeless legends like Erykah Badu and The Roots, Smokin’ Grooves brings a sampling of the best of new and old R&B, funk and soul music to Long Beach. Because LBC is more or less equidistant from Downtown LA and Orange County, this festival drew an impressive crowd for a festival in its first year. And truly, as each person moved past me I couldn’t help thinking “Wow, that was the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen! No, they have to be the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen!” Smokin’ Grooves is a cultural celebration, a PRIDE festival and a big family picnic all rolled into one big, three-stage festival in the looming

Finding the Funk: Birocratic at Union

Dillon Vaughn May 20, 2018

I’d like to begin by getting one very important thing out of the way: I’m a transplant here, as I’m sure a solid 95% of those reading this are too. I’m not as far from my home (Arizona) or my home before that (New Mexico – fuck it, I’m a child of the southwest after all) as most of you are, but I’m sure one thing is common among all of us: moving to Los Angeles represented a pivotal moment in which we were all allowed to explore and pursue every desire and interest we’d ever had, regardless of the cultural taboos and expectations placed upon us by those who raised us and sent us out into this mess (often unwillingly.) I was brought up in a very “metal” family; my parents owned a record store in New Mexico throughout my childhood called The Dragon’s Lair and our family road trips (which were almost exclusively planned around concerts) were soundtracked by the big four or Iron Maiden with sprinkles of what would become a growing obsession of mine: funk. Those deep, catchy grooves encouraged me to dig through every soul section I came across in a record store by the

Fishbone at the Troubadour-The greatest live band of all time

Danny Baraz December 21, 2014

I’ve been trying to think of the right words to use to describe what I saw last night at The Troubadour. It’s not like it was my first time seeing Fishbone. Far from it. I’ve seen them on every size and kind of stage you can imagine from The Malibu Inn, Coachella, The Hollywood Palladium and dating as far back as Lollapalooza 1993 when they completely stole the show from all the headliners. It was almost humorous to see Dinosaur Jr take the stage after Fishbone finished their set that year. What could J Mascis have possibly done to follow Angelo Moore swimming the length of the festival audience, climbing the highest light tower and diving into that crowd during Subliminal Fascism? To date it is one of my most vivid concert memories. So how could seeing Fishbone at The Troubadour on a Friday night in 2014 compare to the times I’ve seen Fishbone co-headline shows with Primus in the 90’s or anywhere else along this journey of theirs which started as junior high schoolers in 1979? I can safely say that it was as good as any Fishbone show I’ve ever seen. How is that possible? How can 49