Parliament-Funkadelic – The mothership in the basement
Somewhere between a spaceship and a basement in the American 1970s, a man in a sheet, or a diaper, or a blond wig, is explaining that the funk is its own country.
Chic – The locked grin of the groove
New Year’s Eve, 1977, the door of Studio 54.
ABBA – Glitter with a fracture
Stockholm, April 1976.
Led Zeppelin – The weight of a riff
Headley Grange, 1971.
The Regal 1964 – B.B. King
On 21 November 1964, at the Regal Theater in Chicago, B.B. King recorded the live album that still teaches every blues band how a room is supposed to answer.
Isle of Wight 1970 – Miles Davis
On 29 August 1970 Miles Davis took an electric band to the Isle of Wight and played one unbroken set, later circulated under the title he allowed: Call It Anything.
One Love Peace Concert 1978 – Bob Marley
On 22 April 1978, at Kingston's National Stadium, Bob Marley called Michael Manley and Edward Seaga onstage during Jamming and joined their hands under a full moon.
Madison Square Garden 1986 – Run-D.M.C.
On 19 July 1986 Run-D.M.C. headlined Madison Square Garden on the Raising Hell tour, and twenty thousand pairs of Adidas left the floor at once.
Monterey 1967 – Otis Redding
Late on 17 June 1967, Otis Redding asked the Monterey Pop Festival if this was the love crowd, and then sang I've Been Loving You Too Long as if the answer had to be earned.
New Orleans 1976 – Parliament
On 27 October 1976, at the Municipal Auditorium in New Orleans, George Clinton landed the Mothership at the start of the show, and the room refused to come back down.