Ain't no party like a P-Funk party 'cause a P-Funk party don't stop -- except at Penn State, when the band the university invited to play gets thrown out of the Rec Hall.
Like what happened Sunday night in front of the few hundred people who actually stayed for the end of the show.
That's crap.
For those of you who weren't there, or left early, we'll give a little background.
George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars were in full groove at the free show somewhere between 11:30 and midnight, having just finished the classic "One Nation Under a Groove." Garry Shider, the diaper-clad guitarist, told the crowd the band was running into time restrictions but announced they wouldn't leave the stage. Still, the band played on and shortly thereafter the microphones went silent, followed by the amps and then the stage and house lights came on.
All that was left were a bunch of funky folk dancing on stage to the rhythmic beats of the drummer, before being ushered off stage.
The only people left by the end were those that were really there to hear the funk, not fake frat boys and sorority girls who only know George Clinton from the movie PCU -- like the people sitting behind us who left before Clinton himself even came onstage.
So we want to ask why something like this happens to a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Does Rec Hall turn back into a pumpkin at midnight? Is it past the bedtime of the auxiliary police force patrolling the indoor track? Or does the university just have something against notable figures that don't follow the rules?
No one was doing anything wrong. There were no riots or fights breaking out and despite what was being advocated from the stage, we didn't see any suspicious clouds of illegal substances rising from the audience.
So we ask again, why was the show stopped?
At this point it's important to point out this is not the first time something like this has occurred. A couple months ago, Chuck D, someone recognized as a Distinguished Speaker by said series, was ushered off stage of Eisenhower Auditorium for running long in his discussion of the music industry and African-American culture. Why does the university even invite controversial figures into perform if they're only going to be thrown out if they get a little longwinded? It just doesn't make sense.
All this further illustrates that Penn State doesn't know how put on concerts. It's not just time management, it's also letting people into the building.
If you've ever attended one of these free shows, you'll notice the floor space might be half-full at the concerts fullest. There are plenty of people standing in the bleachers wanting nothing more than dance in front of the stage. It's a rock show for goodness sake -- not a Neil Diamond snorefest at The Bryce Jordan Center.
What's worse is that Rec Hall is never filled to capacity. People are waiting outside desperate to get in, but can't because throngs of their fellow students picked up tickets "just in case." And when these supposed music fans remember that paper due Tuesday or that TV movie of the week starting Mark Paul Gosselaar, they forget all about those two passes to the "Mothership Connection." And once again, the real music fans are stranded on the steps of Rec Hall trying to beg their way in or stuck behind the chain link fences on the bleachers.
Later as the show goes on and people drift out to study -- get wasted --around 10 p.m., the security guards aren't allowed to let anyone else onto a floor that's increasingly showing hardwood.
This policy is taken to such extremes that minutes before the five-0 pulled the plug on the funk, a guy slipped past the gate and made a mad dash for the gyrating bodies lost in the groove only to be dragged away and booted from the building by yellow-shirted students following orders.
Do you think George Clinton really likes playing in front of an audience so dispersed that most people couldn't even touch one another let alone bump 'n grind? Somehow we doubt it.
If the people running the shows had any idea what they were doing they would make their first priority the act on stage. Once the band steps on stage they should be the ones controlling the building unless some sort of riot breaks out. As long as people are having a good time, the band should play on.
And that same courtesy should be extended to the students as well. It is our university and our money funding the concert. We should be able to get up and dance with no impediment and actually get to see the whole show.
