Surprised as I was by how good Dumpstaphunk was, I knew P-Funk was the tops. The band specializes in crazy funk, pointless jams and repetitive, suggestive chants. It works though, because every member of the band comes on stage believing everything they sing, and it ends up being the closest thing to a minstrel show in the 21st century (save for all the racism).

I have seen George Clinton & The P-Funk All Stars back in 2006 at the House of Blues in Chicago (it was the same band. For all of you who don’t know, P-Funk is basically made up, at any given concert, of any of the members who decide to show up) and Parliament-Funkadelic (sans Clinton) at Urbana’s Sweetcorn Festival in 2007. I know what to expect, that it would be funky, complete with many members and crazy outfits.

The band started a little late, but it wasn’t terrible. Security for Summer Camp told us that we were only allowed to shoot the first three songs of the band…which ended up lasting 40 minutes (remember when I said “pointless jams”? I wasn’t joking). During that time, Clinton did not even appear on stage, which was kind of a gyp to the photographers.

Also, let me clarify when I say “pointless jams.” Maybe that isn’t the best phrase for it, but their songs go long, and meander with solos, chants and grooves. The musicianship is never less than top notch, and while it can sometimes be an exercise in testing one’s patience, they are always great shows.

This show was no different. The band came on and introduced the audience to the world of P-Funk. This includes ridiculous phrases such as “get off your (butt) and jam” or “it would be ludicrous to think that we are new to this, we do this, this is what we do.” These phrases were repeated and repeated, and by the end, the audience had no choice but to believe them.

The band’s music was high-energy throughout, with Garry “Starchild” Shider orchestrating a lot of it while Clinton wasn’t on stage. Oh, did I mention he was in a diaper?

P-Funk grooved along until Clinton finally decided to get on stage. When he did, he did it slowly. The man is 66 years old, but I don’t think that was why he was moving slowly…I think it was another reason…something that was referenced many times through their set…drugs. The band is all about the marijuana, which they explicitly asked for on a number of occasions.

When Clinton did do anything, it was through small gestures. These small gestures got the crowd so excited though. It was almost as if they were in awe of just seeing him. Clinton didn’t sing much, and when he did sing or talk, it was in a very gruff voice, barely able to hold itself up. The years of drug abuse and whatever else he did have taken a toll.

Still, seeing him was entertaining, and believe it or not, those were minor quibbles. It is obvious that these days the band itself is the show, and they are a funky band. The band tore through “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker” and “Flash Light” almost completely on their own, and the crowd ate it up. Singers Kendra Foster and Belita Woods showed their chops off, especially Foster when she sang a slowed down version of “Bounce 2 This” from the 2006 album How Late Do You Have 2BB4UR Absent?”

The band played for a solid two hours, leaving the stage about 10 minutes late. At the end, it was just Clinton, who just seemed very happy. As the crew started to break down the instruments, he lead the audience through chants of “we want the funk, give up the funk” and “get off your (butt) and jam.”

The show is a hard to one to review, so look at the photos that will be posted by tomorrow to see what was really experienced.

I haven’t felt funk like this in a long time. All photos by me except for number 2, E Heisig.

At 2:30, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk came on. Ivan Neville is the son of Aaron Neville of Neville Brothers, and he has played keyboards with The Rolling Stones and was a member of the Spin Doctors for a little while, in addition to having some acclaim under his own name.

With Dumpstaphunk, Neville has created a bona fide funk outfit with some ace musicians, including his cousin Ian. The band started off strong with a cover of Sly & the Family Stone’s “I Cannot Make It” and it only got better from there. The group often incorporated two bassists, Nick Daniels and Tony Hall, and their interplay was essential to the music. There were even a couple times where they got to battling each other, and the results were too funkily dangerous.

The band grooved along for an hour, and attracted a nice crowd throughout. This was party music, and each member seemed like they were having a blast on stage. When the group got to the song “Put It in the Dumpster,” they had the crowd in the palm of their hand, having them chant that phrase as often as they could.

Ivan Neville’s keyboards were essential to the group, as he took many organ solos throughout that were always interesting and never superfluous. When the set was over, it felt like it was too short. This was funk done right, the kind that makes you dance. It was dirty, grimy and all around a good time. George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic had a hard act to follow, because Dumpstaphunk were accomplished and setting the bar rather high.

There were a few key acts we wanted to see on Sunday, so before that Face and I broke down our tent and moved all of our stuff to the ca. After we saw what we wanted to see, we were ready to split. It had been a great weekend so far, and even though we were excited for George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic and The New Pornographers, we were beat (and I was, and still am, very sunburned).

I was also excited to see Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, because a) awesome name, and b) I didn’t want to miss a member of the Neville family. But their performance wasn’t until 2:30, so Face and I had time to wander. We watched a little bit of the band Euforquestra at the Starshine Stage, which really didn’t do much for me. Then we wandered over to the Sunshine Stage, where all the acts we wanted to see where at.

At 1 p.m., the Bloomington, Ill. band Backyard Tire Fire played. I went to Illinois State University for two years, and while I was there, I heard a lot about this band. I had never seen them though, so I figured why not. The band came on, and for a relatively unknown band outside of Bloomington, they attracted a sizable crowd. The group’s roots rock(with emphasis on rock) was surprisingly refreshing to hear. Their lyrics were simplistic and kind of stuck to the cliche’s you would hear a roots rock group sing about (girls, driving, drinking and everything in between), but the music and melodies were often so good you forgot about them.

The drunken (or kind of drunken?) escapades lasted about an hour, and they kept the energy up throughout. The band’s covers of Roger Miller’s “King of the Road” and Warren Zevon’s “Lawyers, Guns and Money” were faithful and were nice additions to a set of tunes that could have stood up on its own. It was a nice surprise to see something I wasn’t expecting.

After O.A.R., I wanted to see moe. at least once (they played five sets during the festival, so the odds were in my favor), so Face and I made it over to the Moonshine Stage to watch them. When Face and I got to the front of the stage to shoot them, we realized the crowd was crazy. Flaming Lips had a good crowd, and sure they were nuts, but I have to hand it to moe., they had them beat. The whole audience was with them, in whatever state they were in at the time.

The band started, and off they went. I think in the 105 minutes they played, they got through about five solid songs (one of which was Peter Gabriel’s “Solsbury Hill,” which was awesome).

Maybe I’m not the biggest fan of moe., but it seemed like they were a little off. A lot of times, their jams went nowhere, and while there were sections of songs that were cool, only the opener “St. Augustine” really grabbed my attention. The band was on, they were focused, and the music was intense. They were all on the same wavelength, playing as hard and as good as they could. The set started on such a high that it was impossible to top it, and unfortunately they didn’t.

The crowd ate it up though. Every minute of it, in whatever state they were in (altered or otherwise). Seriously, that was one of the best crowds I have ever seen at a show. There were balloons, blown-up animals and lots of other things going high above their heads (as well as some smoke…a lot of smoke…). It really was a good way to end Saturday night (oh, last thing, moe.’s light show was really really good), and was good to be able to relax a little bit before going to bed and such.

Plus, Sunday had Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic and The New Pornographers. Stay tuned…