Saturday night at Chaifetz, old-school R&B and funk were at the top of their game for the 1st Annual St. Louis Super Music Festival until headliner Parliament Funkadelic ended the multi-act concert on the lowest of notes.
Expectations for George Clinton and the gang were high as previous performers Zapp, Cameo and Teen Marie had delivered performances that created an energy of fun and nostalgia as the crowd of 4,000 or so anxiously awaited the culminating event.
Zapp kicked things off the right way, hyping up the crowd with classics from the group’s catalog. And Cameo’s freak/funk show got people’s attention with Larry Blackmon’s trademark crotch cup, but it was the ultimately the music that kept the audience engaged.
From quiet storm classic “Sparkle (In Your Eyes)” to high-powered 80’s crossover pop hit “Word Up,” the audience was on their feet from beginning to end for the band’s set – which seemed far too short.
After the second of three excessive intermissions, Teena Marie took the stage and had the crowd on their feet from start to finish. She was by far the best received of all of the acts. Her big voice and vibrato ripped songs like her most recent hit “Stir it Up,” to expanded versions of her classics such as “Déjà Vu,” “Fire and Desire” and “Portuguese Love” compelled the audience to cheer her on until the lights came on abruptly ending her performance in the middle of her “Square Biz” finale.
Her set was basically complete, but Marie’s show still managed to become a casualty of the lag time in between acts – which would continue with a 35 minute wait between Marie’s exit and P-Funk taking the stage.
Excitement turned to impatience as guests sat eager to soak up the funk. As they usually do, the band came out in shifts, with St. Louis native “The Poo Poo Man” getting a roaring applause.
Unfortunately, the sound was off and the singers performed three songs that were essentially on mute.
Clinton took the stage and asked the audience to bear with them, but the attention of the crowd was lost for the night. The band would perform for nearly 20 minutes without sound –unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be a bad thing in hindsight.
The entire set was a cluttered jumbled mess – visually and sound wise as well – that ended even more abruptly than it began.
It was an unfortunate end for a night that was leading up to be remembered as a funk/soul/R&B classic concert experience for St. Louis.
