Photos: George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic @ Beekman Beer Garden

George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic @ Beekman Beer Garden - July 27th, 2011
Photos: Dana (distortion) Yavin

It goes without saying that George Clinton is an iconic figure in pop music. The godfather of funk and his long-running band of musicians Parliament-Funkadelic recently celebrated the singer’s birthday, which was dubbed “George Clinton’s 70th Birthday Funkabration.” The show went on for close to four hours at the recently opened Beekman Beer Garden on Wednesday, which according to Dana, was “the longest show in the history of long shows.” That didn’t stop her from staying the entire time and taking a bunch of great photos for us.

In other Beekman Beer Garden news (which is a really great venue), be sure to check out The Raveonettes perform a free show there this Sunday, July 31. And then of course, Mission of Burma (aka the most incredible band in the universe) will be performing there on Sunday, August 7. If you haven’t checked out our recent interview with MoB bassist/singer Clint Conley, have a look at it now.

Full set of photos of George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic from Wednesday are below…

This Week's Nostalgia (7/25-7/31)

If you haven't realized it yet, it's fucking hot out there. Dragging myself out to the few shows I went to this past week was not an easy task, and I'm still sort of dehydrated from all the walking around and sweating. I made it to Levon Helm/Emmylou Harris on Monday, and though it did rain through most of Levon's set, I still had a good time. I also checked out They Might Be Giants' free show at the Apple store on Wednesday, and you can check out photos over here and some more over at BrooklynVegan. I've also become severely addicted to Spotify, and if you haven't already, subscribe to our This Week's Nostalgia playlist which will be updated to fit this column's picks each week. Let's see what's in store for us this week...

Toots & the Maytals @ Brooklyn Bowl
Monday, July 25

If you're even the slightest fan of reggae, then you're probably a fan of Toots & the Maytals. Without a doubt one of the most important and soulful acts of the early rocksteady movement, the Maytals' music is marked by extremely beautiful vocal harmonies, tight grooves and soulful lyrics. Not to mention that you've probably heard their work covered by dozens of artists, with songs like "Pressure Drop," "Monkey Man" and "54/46 (That's My Number)" being covered by The Clash, The Specials, and Sublime respectively. The last time I saw Toots Hibbert and his band was in Vermont around '04, and though I found it amusing that they felt the need to double-time the end of every song, it was still a good show. Tickets for the Brooklyn Bowl show are sold out, but the venue typically sells a small amount of tickets at the door day of.

Jane's Addiction @ Terminal 5
Monday, July 25

Since the early '90s, Jane's Addiction have been an on-again, off-again act, reuniting intermittently for albums, tours and headlining major festivals like the upcoming Reading Festival and Perry Farrell's own Lollapalooza. Recently, they have recruited TV on the Radio mastermind Dave Sitek to co-produce their latest album The Great Escape Artist in which he also plays bass on. Sitek will not be touring with the band for this tour though, so don't expect to see him at Terminal 5 tomorrow. This show was announced abruptly a couple weeks ago, with fans being able to get free tickets via a Ticketmaster code, which of course led to tickets being sold out almost immediately. Fans who make it in will "experience the world’s first-ever consumer generated 3D concert," ...whatever that means. Sounds awesome if you're going, and let us know what it's like.

Wanda Jackson @ Central Park SummerStage
Wednesday, July 27

The "Queen of Rockabilly" enjoyed a resurgence of popularity earlier this year when Jack White produced The Party Ain't Over, Wanda Jackson's 31st studio album according to her Wikipedia page. Following the record's release, she has made a number of television appearances and played several shows in the New York City area, which she will continue to do as she plays Central Park SummerStage this Wednesday for FREE. No word on whether or not White will make an appearance, but he did play some shows with her earlier this year so you never know. Show starts at 7pm, so you may want to get there early to ensure entry.

They Might Be Giants @ Williamsburg Waterfront (East River State Park)
Friday, July 29

More photos here.

In case you haven't noticed, we're pretty big They Might Be Giants fans here. As previously mentioned, we caught the band play the Apple Store in SoHo on Wednesday and it was pretty great. But while that show was an abridged set in a swanky storefront, this show will take place at the outdoor stage in Williamsburg that has a beautiful view of the Manhattan skyline across the river. A bit of trivia: this is the exact location TMBG filmed the video for "Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head" 26 years ago, long before Williamsburg was the trendy spot it is now. So if they don't play that song on Friday, I will really be shocked. Comedian Eugene Mirman and his "pretty good friends" including Kristen Schaal (Mel from Flight of the Conchords) will open the show with surprise guests. Doors are at 5pm with the show starting at 7pm. Entry is free. Yeah... this is gonna rock.

Morris Day & The Time @ B.B. King Blues Club
Friday, July 29

Yeah. Tickets.

Notable Mentions:

7/25 - Stone Temple Pilots @ Williamsburg Waterfront (Tickets)
7/27 - George Clinton & the Parliament Funkadelic (Tickets)
7/29 - The Pietasters @ Rocks Off Cruise (Tickets)
7/29 - The Eels @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (Tickets)
7/30 - The Eels @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (Tickets)
7/31 - The Raveonettes @ Beekman Beer Garden (FREE)

It's a pretty busy week, and it's only gonna get busier. We have a ton of photos to post of shows that went down this week, so be on the lookout for that. Again, be sure to subscribe to our weekly Spotify playlist so you can check out all of the artists mentioned in This Week's Nostalgia. Until next time...

Swirlies playing Beekman Beer Garden this Sunday, George Clinton on Wednesday

Last month we announced a series of free Sunday shows at the recently opened Beekman Beer Garden, which is located at the South Street Seaport. So far the festival, dubbed the Beach Party Music Series, has featured Cheeseburger, Xray Eyeballs, Frankie Rose, Woven Bones and a Davila 666 DJ Set. But clearly they are saving the really great shows for last. This Sunday, Boston band The Swirlies will bring their drowned-out shoegaze sound to the Seaport, with Psychedelic Horseshit opening. With that lineup, you’ll definitely want to bring the earplugs.

Doors for all shows open at 11:30am, with the show starting at 3pm, and it is unfortunately 21 and over (it is a beer garden, after all). I got to check out the venue after the free Ted Leo show a couple weeks ago, and it’s definitely a great place to hang out with an amazing view, so it won’t kill you to get there early and chill (or bake) for a bit. Next Sunday brings Danish neo-shoegaze act The Raveonettes (one of my more current favorites) on July 31, but the really killer show in this series will be my all-time favorite band, Mission of Burma (a.k.a. the greatest band on planet Earth) on August 7. Pretty excited about that one. Who knows, we may even be celebrating with an exclusive feature on the band soon…

And now onto the other great (but not free) show at Beekman: The legendary George Clinton & the Parliament Funkadelic will play the venue on Wednesday, July 27 at 7pm (doors are at 5pm). Tickets are still on sale. While we’re on the subject, remember that ridiculous scene in the not-as-great-as-you-remember-it film PCU where P-Funk’s tour bus breaks down and George Clinton decides, “yeah, we’ll play a frat party for no other reason other than to make a mockery of every band that plays frat parties.” Okay, he didn’t say that, but it was still pretty stupid. Forget that though, because George Clinton is awesome and is sure to put on a great show on Wednesday. Oh yeah, and Maggot Brain is still one of my favorite records of all time.

It goes without saying we have our next few Sundays planned, and we hope to see you there as well! Below, check out some posters for the shows, as well as a video of P-Funk in PCU playing Prince's "Erotic City"...