Much like Bob Marley, George Clinton is a musical legend that most college students can agree on. Thousands of Syracuse University students flocked to the Carrier Dome on Sunday night to get funked up with George Clinton and P-Funk All Stars at the end of the semester block party.

Human beatbox Rahzel, from the legendary Roots crew, opened the show and wowed the crowd with his vast array of vocal techniques and tricks. Aided by DJ JS1, Rahzel rapped on several tracks and recreated some famous hip-hop songs using only his voice. He pieced together the beat and vocal from Mos Def’s hit “Miss Fatbooty” and at the climax of his set, created the beat, bass line and chorus of “If Your Mother Only Knew” all at the same time. Rahzel’s hour-long set was thoroughly entertaining and hyped up the crowd for Clinton’s imminent barrage of funk.

Famous for their marathon-length shows and outlandish outfits, the P-Funk All Stars were limited to a 90-minute set at the Dome but didn’t cut back on the extravagance. Decked out in a bright-yellow oversized overcoat, Clinton, the self proclaimed “referee” of the group, directed the funk mob that at times swelled to more than 20 members.

The rotating collective of musicians often made things chaotic both visually and sonically, but when they were able to layer guitar, horn, keyboard and vocal parts and make them mesh, P-Funk was a force to be reckoned with. The magic moments occurred during a long performance of “Flashlight” that was, for lack of a better word — funky — and the crowd pleasing, “Atomic Dog” near the end of the night.

Another highlight came early when the All Stars broke into a rowdy “Bop Gun” that was more than welcome after a dreary and decidedly unfunky instrumental opening song. “Bop Gun” also featured the first of countless crowd sing-alongs as the students were encouraged to chant “I’ve got to get over the hump” along with the rest of the band.

While crowd participation lasted throughout the evening, so did bad sound. Granted, a band as big as P-Funk must be a sound guy’s nightmare, the feedback and lack of balance that plagued the performance was nearly unforgivable.

Mike Lang is a junior in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. E-mail him at [email protected].

Published on April 27, 2003 at 12:00 pm