Concert Review
Bootsy Collins
BB Kings Supper Club NYC
BB Kings Supper Club NYC
Sunday June 26
This one was like Heaven and Hell combined.
On the positive side, Bootsy and his merry band came to play and put on the funkiest two and a half hour show/party you’re ever going to see. Playing all their hits plus Sly and George and everything in-between, Bootsy even walked into the crowd to dance with and touch his adoring fans. And with Bernie Worell on keyboards, Blackbyrd McKnight on guitar, Frankie “Kash” Waddy on drums and Public Enemy’s Colonel Hardgroove on bass and vocals, you couldn’t ask for more. Hey, even Dr. Cornel West joined in.
In short, this was memorably great.
On the other hand, the club was painfully overcrowded. It felt like rush hour on the F Train. Sweltering hot and so packed that you couldn’t move, my calves “burned,” feet ached, back throbbed, and it basically became an endurance contest. Standing in one spot for almost four hours takes some of the fun out of things as you can imagine. And at $8 a beer, staying hydrated was an expensive proposition.
But, hey, it was for Bootsy who hasn’t toured in 13 years.
Opening act, Freekbot, tore the joint up on a smaller stage to the side of the main one, where everything was set and ready to roll for Bootzilla. So you do have to question why there was a 45 or so minute break before Bootsy came out under such uncomfortable conditions.
All in all, file this under show of the year, but I sure felt it the next morning.
--Evan Ginzburg www.legendsradio.net
Evan Ginzburg celebrates 20 years of radio July 12 at Gizzi’s Café 16 W 8th St. NYC 7-11 PM with a No Cover concert featuring 6 of his favorite virtuoso acts- all genres of music- and a 10 PM jam session.
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