Thursday June 30th, 2011 - Milwaukee, WI Logic would have decided against it, and I’m sure all my doctors and nurses would have agreed, but I felt a burning need to chuck all things prudent and find the way to venture to Milwaukee to catch the George Clinton show at Summerfest. As horrific as these last two weeks have been, I needed a little cheering up. Nothing does it for me like the Pfunk live. I don’t care who anyone else likes, and I respect those who have favorites. George is my favorite for many reasons, and at this time in my life I felt I had to risk it all and ride up to see the show. Jerry Agar was off and his family was busy with other things, so he was my personal chauffer. He’d never seen George before, but he knows how much of a fan I am. Jerry loves Alice Cooper, and I totally get that. I think Alice is one of the most fantastic showmen around, but that’s why I like George. It’s a personal choice, and I’ve seen Alice live and enjoyed the show very much. But if it boils down to my top choice, it’s George. There’s something cosmic about a Pfunk show when the band is really on. Some shows are better than others, and it’s that way with any performer, but even when the band is off they’re still better than 99% of any other live act I can think of. They‘re master musicians. I must have seen George live at least 40 times or more, and I never get sick of it. He just commands the stage, and I know every song from being such a lifelong fan. I can identify all the subtle nuances, and they’re always changing things around so it’s constantly fresh. Jerry and I made it to the Big Back Yard stage about five minutes before show time and as the show got started I watched his reaction. Both of us enjoy quality entertainers of any genre, and I could see him getting into it. Years earlier, he brought me against my will to see a Johnny Cash show at the Marcus Amphitheatre at Summerfest and it was amazing. Johnny Cash was a master showman, and captivated his audience as soon as he walked out in his black clothing. George Clinton does the same thing when he appears in his wild costumes and formerly psychedelic hairdo. He’s cut that now, but it doesn’t matter. HE’S the magic, not necessarily the package. It might accentuate it, but the charisma is within. I love James Brown’s music and would have loved to have seen him live. I’d also enjoy seeing Sly Stone, the third in the ‘trinity of funk’. James is gone and Sly isn’t touring, so George is my last shot. He’s my favorite anyway, so I don’t mind. I always learn from the masters on how to be a better showman myself. George is up there with the top acts ever. What really impresses me is that I’ve never seen him interviewed when he’s down or in a bad mood. Last year he lost both his mother and oldest son, not to mention his guitarist Garry ‘Diaper Man’ Shider and backup singer Mallia Franklin. Any one of those has to be devastating, much less all four. Still, I never heard him complain and they’re still touring. Not only that, he found time to shoot me a call yesterday and wish me a speedy recovery. I have a pile of new life problems now, but for a night I got to lose myself in the funk.
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