New Track

Just when I thought my holiday's were an official bust, I got a highly confidential phone call, that would change my maddeningly dull New Year weekend.

Instead of joining the SoCal ranks and hitting up one of the many New Year's Eve celebrations, I was the victim of a nasty headache. No, I am not usually prone to migraines. I guess I had way to much on my mind, as I waited for my family to return from their badly timed trip to Israel. More on that later…

After my long distance calls and night of CNN watching, my brain overloaded a bit and I had to pass on any partying. I had no idea how much I would make up for lost time!

The next Friday (January 2), my cell phone jumped to life, with a call from a good friend of mine. As usual, he had the lowdown on the upcoming throwdown! After a quick conversation, I got myself together and jumped in the ride. I was about to watch the legendary Mothership land, once again, as George Clinton returned to Los Angeles!

If you are one of my faithful readers, you may remember my last concert review of Parliament/Funkadelic , when I caught them at Crash Mansion. This time around, they were about 2 blocks away from the now closed Mansion, as they helped break in the brand spanking new Nokia Theater L.A. Live Center, the recently opened entertainment center that sits next to The Staples Center, and down the block from the Los Angeles Convention Center.

As I walked into the neon lit, bustling Nokia L.A. Live, I saw my homie, who gave the nod to the two security guards manning the door. They gave me the "holy grail" of concert goers, music journalists, and fans and I knew my holiday had begun. I was just handed the all access pass!

I bounced to the backstage area and started talking to random musicians and party people. The venue is very impressive, with a huge general admittance floor area and theater balcony seats that seemed to go for miles. After shaking a few hands, exploring every inch of the Nokia Live, and catching a few drinks at the bar, I got lost in the back halls and was knee deep in a conversation before I heard the bass echos. Damn it, they are all onstage already, I thought, and raced back to the crowd. Garry "Starchild" Shidder and the band were raising it up and the crowd were on their feet!

This would be my third time catching Parliament-Funkadelic. I caught them in New York at the legendary club Tramps, before they closed down for good. That night they tore the roof off after about 4 hours of funking around. That was my first toast to the boogie. The Club Mansion gig was memorable as well, but none of those shows would match tonight's performance!