George Clinton @ The Arches

Before our P-Funk maverick takes the stage, The Arches crowd is treated to a support band like no other: The Funk Brothers boast that they've played on more chart-topping singles than the Beatles, Beach Boys, Stones and Elvis put together, and we get some of them tonight. Indeed, there Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing, but Marvin Gaye is long dead so this is the realest we'll ever get. To hear that, along with What's Going On, Uptight and My Girl from some of the original band is a real pleasure. With a rapturous throng demanding "we want the funk, give up the funk!", 66 year-old George Clinton finally takes the stage sporting an explosive multi-coloured hair-do and a face bursting with croaky roars and commands. Clinton's call-and-response compering is followed with religious fervour, while the band launches through extended guitar-heavy funk jams with snatches of recognisable motifs dotted throughout. They're allowed to be indulgent when just five seconds of descending bassline (Flashlight) makes dancers wither at the knees time and time again. Tonight, crazy George and his legendary players deliver on every claim of the frenzied, clamorous crowd: he gives us all the funk we'll ever need, and more. [Ally Brown]