Parliament-Funkadelic — The Summit, Houston, 1976

Live full concert of Parliament-Funkadelic at The Summit in Houston, filmed on 31 October 1976 during the P-Funk Earth Tour. This document preserves the celebrated Mothership Connection show, complete with the descent of the spaceship on stage, the peak of the Afrofuturist staging conceived by George Clinton. Around the bandleader orbits the full collective: the bass of Bootsy Collins, the keyboards of Bernie Worrell, the guitars of Garry Shider, Glenn Goins and Michael Hampton, the drumming of Jerome Brailey and a horn section led by Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker. The set runs through the pillars of the repertoire, from “Cosmic Slop” to “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker),” by way of “Dr. Funkenstein” and “Mothership Connection (Star Child).” Despite its age, the capture keeps the raw energy and sheer theatrical excess of this founding era of funk. It is an essential live performance for grasping the influence of P-Funk on soul, hip-hop and funk culture. A rare record of the band in concert at its creative peak.