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Under
Ray
Chew’s
baton,
the
Detroit
Opera
Orchestra
wrapped
lush,
sweeping
arrangements
around
P-Funk
staples
like
“Flash
Light”
and
“Give Up
the Funk
(Tear
the Roof
Off the
Sucker),”
turning
the
stage
into a
swirling
tableau
of
sound,
light
and
color.
(Photo
by
Montez
Miller/Tell
Us USA
News
Network) |
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One
Nation
Under a
Groove:
P-Funk
Guru
George
Clinton
Gets
Royal
Detroit
Welcome
in Dual
Tribute
Simon
Weinstein
-
Entertainment
World
Tell Us
Detroit
News
DETROIT
(Tell Us
Detroit)
- The
Motor
City got
down
this
weekend
in a
two-part
homage
to its
prodigal
funk
son,
George
Clinton,
as the
P-Funk
architect
returned
home for
a museum
conversation
and a
symphonic
spectacular
that
traced
his
five-decade
legacy
and deep
Detroit
roots.
The
celebration
opened
Thursday
at the
Charles
H.
Wright
Museum
of
African
American
History,
where
Clinton
headlined
a
free-flowing
“P-Funk
Conversation”
before a
packed
house in
the
General
Motors
Theater.
Moderated
by WDET
host Ann
Delisi,
with
musical
direction
and
insight
from
bandleader
Ray
Chew,
the
evening
mixed
career-spanning
stories,
a
community
sing-along
and
reflections
on
Detroit’s
role in
shaping
the funk
sound.
Doors
opened
at 6
p.m.,
with
Detroit
soul
singer
Apropos
warming
up the
limited-seating
crowd
before
Clinton
took the
stage.
Weaving
in
personal
anecdotes
and
industry
lore,
Clinton
framed
funk as
a
foundational
genre
that
continues
to
ripple
through
hip-hop,
rock and
pop,
summing
it up
simply:
“The DNA
of funk
is in
everything.”
(Photo
by
Montez
Miller/Tell
Us USA
News
Network)
Clinton
walked
the
audience
through
his
journey
from
harmonizing
in a New
Jersey
barbershop
to
leading
the
Parliament-Funkadelic
collective
and
writing
songs
for
Motown-era
R&B
acts.
Weaving
in
personal
anecdotes
and
industry
lore, he
framed
funk as
a
foundational
genre
that
continues
to
ripple
through
hip-hop,
rock and
pop,
summing
it up
simply:
“The DNA
of funk
is in
everything.”
Before
the
conversation
began,
city
officials
presented
Clinton
with a
formal
proclamation
saluting
his 2017
induction
into the
Rock &
Roll
Hall of
Fame,
his 2019
Grammy
Lifetime
Achievement
Award
and his
role in
shaping
Detroit’s
post-Motown
sonic
identity.
The
tribute
also
highlighted
his
long-standing
ties to
the
city’s
R&B and
funk
community,
underscoring
how
Detroit
served
as a key
incubator
for the
P-Funk
mythology.
George
Clinton
is
pictured
with Ray
and
Vivian
Chew who
are a
powerhouse
duo in
the
world of
live
music
direction
and
television
production.
(Photo
by
Montez
Miller/Tell
Us USA
News
Network)
The
festivities
crescendoed
Saturday
night at
the
historic
Detroit
Opera
House
with
“Symphonic
PFunk:
One
Nation
Under a
Groove,”
a
full-scale
orchestral
reimagining
of
Clinton’s
cosmic
songbook.
Under
Chew’s
baton,
the
Detroit
Opera
Orchestra
wrapped
lush,
sweeping
arrangements
around
P-Funk
staples
like
“Flash
Light”
and
“Give Up
the Funk
(Tear
the Roof
Off the
Sucker),”
turning
the
stage
into a
swirling
tableau
of
sound,
light
and
color.
Guest
artists
—
including
vocalist
Nona
Hendryx,
Living
Colour
guitarist
Vernon
Reid and
singer
Rahsaan
Patterson
— joined
Clinton
for a
set that
fused
orchestral
precision
with
P-Funk’s
trademark
theatricality.
Guest
artists
—
including
vocalist
Nona
Hendryx,
Living
Colour
guitarist
Vernon
Reid and
singer
Rahsaan
Patterson
— joined
Clinton
for a
set that
fused
orchestral
precision
with
P-Funk’s
trademark
theatricality.
(Photo
by
Montez
Miller/Tell
Us USA
News
Network)
Fans on
every
level of
the
opera
house
danced
in their
seats,
many
sporting
vintage
Parliament-Funkadelic
gear and
flashing
the
familiar
“One
Nation
Under a
Groove”
salute.
Across
both
venues,
the
tribute
drew a
multigenerational
crowd of
longtime
Funkateers
and new
listeners,
many of
whom
grew up
with
Clinton’s
music
sampled
in
contemporary
hits.
From the
Wright’s
intimate,
story-rich
homage
to the
opera
house’s
expansive,
high-voltage
spectacle,
Detroit
spent
the
weekend
honoring
one of
its own
and
reaffirming
that the
groove
George
Clinton
helped
build is
still
very
much
alive.
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