Instead of the usual mélange of DJ Bob, top-40 hits and Bon Jovi, this Saturday funkadelic grooves will pervade the Street as George Clinton performs in the backyard of Quadrangle Club, in an event sponsored by the USG and Charter, Colonial, Campus, Terrace and Quadrangle Clubs.
Doors will open at 6 p.m. and the band will get their funk on starting at 7 p.m. The band will not have an opening act, USG Social Chair Christoph Geiseler '04 said, but will perform for three hours. Although the concert is free, students will only be admitted with a PUID, and there will be a strict no-backpack, no-alcohol policy.
"George Clinton is perfect for a Princeton audience," Geiseler said, "His music is energetic, soulful, and, most importantly, funky!"
Organizing the event
"The event is being held at Quad after moving locations a few times because we originally approached the University to have this event out on Prospect, and the eating clubs are a perfect venue for such a concert atmosphere," said Quadrangle Club President Corey Sanders '04.
The eating clubs are ideal, Sanders said, because of their facilities, such as dressing room space, usable showers, accessible power and easy catering.
Since the Quadrangle Club successfully hosted last year's Lifehouse concert at spring lawnparties, "the University knew the layout and potential of the area," Sanders said.
Quad is preparing for the concert by putting up a fence around the backyard of Quad and setting up the stage, lighting, and sound.
"We couldn't have a better and safer venue," Geiseler said, "We are working with the Borough to make this event go as smoothly as possible, and I don't expect my peers to do much more than dance like crazy or scream their heads off. The event is early enough in the evening so we can respect sound restrictions without putting the concert in jeopardy."
The Band
George Clinton started his career in junior high school, founding The Parliaments, a barbershop doo-wop ensemble, which scored a Top 20 hit with "I Wanna Testify" in 1967. By the early 1970's, the group's Motown songs evolved into sprawling jams.
At the same time, Clinton started Funkadelic, a group which fused psychedelic guitar distortion, bizarre sound effects, and danceable beats. The Funkadelic sound became the definition of funk.
Parliament & Funkadelic dominated and revolutionized the music scene in the 1970s, capturing 40 R&B hit singles and racking up four #1 hits: "Flashlight," "One Nation Under a Groove," "Aqua Boogie" and "(Not Just) Knee Deep." Clinton's collaborators included master keyboardist Bernie Worrel, guitarist Eddie Hazel, bassist Bootsy Collins, saxophonist Maceo Parker, trombonist Fred Wesley. Clinton was known for his spectacular shows, often including an enormous mothership, outrageous costumes, and marathon performances.
In the 1980's, George Clinton emerged as a successful solo artist. He released "Computer Games" with the #1 hit single "Atomic Dog," produced The Red Hot Chili Peppers and signed onto Prince's Paisley Park label. Clinton also began experimenting with hip-hop, and has said that "funk is the DNA of hip-hop and rap."
By 1990, Clinton had become recognized as the godfather of modern urban music. Beats, loops and samples of P-Funk appeared on albums by a variety of artists, including OutKast, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliot. Clinton was also featured in the 1994 movie "PCU."
In 1997, George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and earned a Lifetime Achievement Award at the NAACP Image Awards. In 2002, SPIN magazine voted Parliament/Funkadelic number six of the 50 Greatest Bands of All Time.
Music Diversity
Former USG Social Chair Tim Skerpon '03 was criticized for choosing both the Goo Goo Dolls and Third Eye Blind as last year's main acts – bands which are thought to appeal to similar audiences.
"The USG wants to promote events that are new and different, yet accessible to a large student audience," Geiseler said, "An act like P-Funk [George Clinton & Parliament / Funkadelic] increases the diversity of the music offered on campus and provides an alternative to the music played at recent events."
"Many people will also appreciate the band because they influenced many of the hip-hop artists we love today," Geiseler added.
Geiseler said that George Clinton was also selected because his touring schedule was able to accommodate the Princeton concert. "I'd love to consider all bands from Ben Harper to Radiohead but they oftentimes have complicated touring schedules, ridiculous staging costs, or personal demands that make it hard to choose the right band at the right time."
Mike McFadden '04, president of Colonial Club, said that Colonial was interested in cosponsoring the event after "many members expressed enthusiastic support for the idea when they heard that George Clinton might be performing somewhere on Prospect Avenue."
"After talking with the USG about the cost of hosting such a big name, a number of clubs, including Colonial, decided that we would cosponsor the event in order to help make it happen," McFadden said.
"We were also very excited to be a part of an alcohol-free event that could help dispel the mistaken idea that you have to drink to have fun at the Street."
Sanders said that Quad is excited to host such "a talented and funkadelic group," for which he expected to have a crowd similar to the Lifehouse concert last year.
"Come on, it'll be awesome," Geiseler said, "funkalicious by all means."
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