Bootsy Collins @ Le Trianon, Paris - February 20th, 2014

Bootsy Collins is the man. He's a cool, funky cat and his bass playing is stamped all over some of the funkiest music ever recorded. “Sex Machine.” “Soul Power.” “Super Bad.” “P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up).” “Funkentelechy.” “Bootzilla.” “Give Up the Funk.” “One Nation Under a Groove.” “Stretchin' Out (In a Rubber Band).” The man is a groove machine, and his shows are giant funky parties where The One reigns supreme.

If you came here to sit on your ass and watch him play, you're out of luck, pal. You're here to dance, mutha funker. It's not like you have much choice. Your feet and your ass are moving whether you want them to or not.

There is one frustration, though. For the past few years, our man Casper has seemed increasingly content to play singer and ringleader, leaving much of the actual bass playing to other people. He doesn't put the Space Bass away, mind you, but often slaps at it with his picking hand while palm-muting the strings with the other. The auto-wah still produces that unmistakable funky popping sound, but disappointingly, a lot of the notes are coming from elsewhere.

It's an odd choice because when Bootsy really does play, he fucking rips. His Mutron-soaked solo on “I'd Rather Be with You” is all the reminder anyone needs. He's the Jimi Hendrix of funk bass: instantly recognisable, technically outrageous and responsible for changing the vocabulary of his instrument.
Still, this is a celebration of all things funk, packed with legendary tunes, ridiculous costumes and deep, deep grooves. It would just be better if a little more of that groove came directly from Bootzilla's fingers. His bass playing is, after all, a big part of why everybody came. But there ain't no party like a P-Funk party.