Bootsy's Rubber Band Performing "I'd Rather Be With You" Live In Houston

Here's a terrific clip of Bootsy and his Rubber Band performing their song "I'd Rather Be With You," in 1976 at the Houston Summit in Houston, Texas. In this performance, Bootsy displayed his considerable bass-playing skills on an incandescent Space Bass solo. Looking at the eyes of Bootsy and the Rubber Band members, it looks like they may have been partaking in a bit of the cannabis before this performance. In other words, these brothers were high! If the aim was to help them get more into the performance, it definitely worked.

Bootsy was perhaps the brightest star to emerge from the P-Funk army. In addition to his great talent as a musician and songwriter, Bootsy was (and still is) a consummate showman. His likable, charismatic personality instantly connects with audience members once he hits the stage, and he always looks like he's having just as much fun as they are.

This performance occurred during the high-water mark of funk music in the mid '70s where there were funk artists and bands aplenty. What James Brown had ignited a decade earlier came into full bloom, and it was truly One Nation Under a Groove for a brief, but glorious period.




Related blog entry: Bootsy Stretches Out His Funky Rubber Band On Late Night TV