Weekend at Bernie's

Sorry it's been so long... I am overcome with work and back trouble, so it's hard for me to pay attention to this thing right now. But I will drop by for a couple of 4/20 weekend posts, beginning with a 70th birthday shout out to today's honoree: Funk warrior and founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic, Bernie Worrell.

I thought of posting a P-Funk piece for today but said to myself, why not feature BW out front, instead of as just one musician among the 37 people onstage? So I decided on this smoker of a set from Bernie's WOO Warriors project, which finds the man and his band stomping through a whole slew of classics made famous by George Clinton's Parliafunkadelicment Thang.

It's also a rarity for here in that I get to post a birthday show for the birthday boy, complete with a rendition of "Happy Birthday" sung to him by his bandmates. Bernie was born on 4/19 and this performance is from 4/20, so it's close enough for Jazz, as they say.

Anyway there isn't too much to say about this concert except that it's in a very small club near where I used to live on Long Island and a great time is had by all. The P-Funk mantra of "It ain't nuthin' but a party, y'all!" is in full implementation here, and Bernie and his ensemble don't disappoint the assembled Funkateers with 100 minutes of uncut Bomb.

Bernie Worrell and the WOO Warriors
The Downtown
Farmingdale, NY
4.20.2002

CD 1
01 Intro
02 Jam
03 Why Can't We WOO Together
04 Gamin' On Ya
05 Super Stupid
06 Red Hot Mama
07 You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks
08 Drums
09 Volunteer Slavery
10 Outerspace Ways, Inc.

Total time: 52:13

CD 2
01 Biological Speculation
02 Happy Birthday, WOOniverse
03 Trash A-Go-Go
04 Standing On the Verge of Getting It On*

05 Cosmic Slop*
06 Night of the Thumpasaurus Peoples
 

Total time: 48:45

Bernie Worrell - keyboards and vocals
Jen Durkin - vocals
Greg Fitz - keyboards and vocals
Gary Sullivan - drums
Donna McPherson - bass
The Flash - guitar

*with John Hickey - guitar

SBD/AUD matrix recorded by the soundman with Bernie's permission

615 MB FLAC/April 2014 archive link

I'll be back again tomorrow with an Oaksterdam special for the 20th of April, but for now fire up this burner of a show from one of Planet Earth's "Lords of the P," as we celebrate the first man ever to use a Moog synthesizer to play the main bassline of a hit song. Can you Bernie Lean? I can Bernie Lean. --J.