The Bernie Worrell Orchestra at SubCulture Arts Underground

SubCulture Arts Underground is New York’s newest and best performance venue. The subterranean space at 45 Bleecker Street, corner of Lafayette Street, is elegant and is dedicated to the arts in its many forms. Unfixed seating (portable chairs) allow for flexible usage, and modern light and sound systems are in place for performances on the SubCulture stage. The room hosted its first concert performance tonight, featuring the nine-piece Bernie Worrell Orchestra.

George Bernard "Bernie" Worrell, Jr. , the 68-year-old keyboardist and synthesizer player from New Jersey and founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic, led his current band through a stunning array of funk, jazz and hard rock compositions. Although the frameworks of the songs were scripted, he allowed for considerable improvisation. He himself was the most spontaneous, introducing experimental electronic keyboard cacophony into the strong rhythms played by the other musicians. His lyrics were minimalistic and repetitive, almost mantra-like. As the evening progressed, the guitars rocked louder and the rhythm section grew funkier, driving more than half the audience to get out of the chairs in order to dance in the aisle, particularly when he launched into Parliament-Funkadelic’s “Mothership Connection (Star Child).” Worrell brought the funk and the music nearly tore off the roof of the new venue.