At work, I talk to colleagues who went to the first night
and others who will go to tonight’s show.
The sense of satisfaction/excitement among all is palpable. Another colleague sadly rings me to ask if I
know someone who wants to buy her ticket to Hanging Rock on Saturday due to
unexpected circumstances. (She, understandably, point blank refuses to allow me
to discuss my experience.) I briefly
consider taking it and going with one of my siblings but decide against
it. After all “M” would want to go as
well. My office mate Jack is also
looking forward to the evening as he holds tickets for Wilco at Hamer
Hall. Ordinarily, I’d be jealous but
tonight I know I’ve got the pick of the night – Iggy And The Stooges.
By my reckoning this will be my third experience of The
Stooges, the second with James Williamson in the band and the first in full
concert mode. The first occasion was a killer
hour slot at the 2006 Big Day Out when, with Ron Ashton on board, they gleefully
stomped all over the Fun House album and scarred the wits out of the Franz
Ferdinand, Kings Of Leon and White Stripes dilettantes in the audience. Sadly, Ron had died by the time they
returned for the 2011 Big Day Out but still did the business on a stinking hot
day this time educating the waiting Rammstein fans about the true meaning of
Raw Power.
I’d also seen Iggy on at least 4 occasions prior to that
going all the way back to both Melbourne dates on his 1989 Instinct Tour. All were memorable, none more so than his gig
which brought in 1998 at The Falls Festival in Lorne. After
a couple of decent tracks from the Naughty Little Doggie album, he brought in the
new year with a countdown and roaring versions of Search And Destroy followed
by Raw Power (or was it the other way round?).
It couldn’t have been coincidental that 1998 turned out to be the most
memorable year of my life before “M”. Every
show with Iggy has been a memorable one – you could never accused him of being
dull - and he remains to this day my favourite live performer, Springsteen
included.
It was another full day at work. I had planned on playing through Iggy’s
Bootleg Collection titled Roadkill Rising today, but the weight of commitments
made this impossible. Instead I only had
time to indulge in a spot of historical revisionism:
(243) The Stooges –
Self Titled
(244) The Stooges –
Fun House (collector’s edition)
It is impossible to underestimate the impact of these two albums
plus Raw Power on the Australian independent music scene. The Velvet underground and the MC5 can rightly
claim some credit, but realistically without The Stooges, seminal and influential
acts such as Radio Birdman and The Saints would not have been formed. To get a measure of how ingrained these
albums are in Australia’s musical DNA, go to any pub on any given night in
especially, Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide and chances are high that any number
of bands will include tracks such as I Wanna be Your Dog, No Fun, Loose, TV
Eye, Dirt (as well as Raw Power’s title track and Search And Destroy) in their
sets. These are uncompromising albums
performed by musicians committed to the music and the lifestyles they espoused
seemingly without worrying whether these would sell. This is the definition of art. But unlike many artists, the majority of its
members have lived to see the overwhelming evidence of their influence as their
musical visions bore fruit. Whilst elements
of the Velvet Underground’s and The MC5’s work have been influential, it’s been
the Stooges that have held sway. Put it
this way: The Velvet Underground provided the intellectual road map for the
today’s independent music scene, The MC5 attempted to write its political
manifesto but it was The Stooges who created The Idiot’s Guide that has enabled
generations to follow in their wake.
I head off to Melbourne’s most despised concert venue,
Festival Hall in West Melbourne adjoining the new Docklands precinct. The original building was a boxing arena which
burnt down in circa 1955 and was rebuilt for the 1956 Olympics. It is a rectangular barnlike structure with uncomfortable
fixed seats on either end. The area
between them in front of the stage is now a permanent general admission area
come mosh pit. It has a foreboding 1950s
feel, in the main, terrible acoustics and is a sweatbox on hot days. Promoters never advertise additional shows by
the same act at smaller venues until this venue sells out, knowing full well
that if given a chance punters will choose the other venue.
I get there early because the support act is the legendary Beasts
Of Bourbon in their original line up. They give a pretty good account of
themselves, Tex Perkins in full flight as usual, but from my seat on the side,
they don’t seem to have connected as well with the audience as I would have expected. Still it was expertly arranged 45 minute set
featuring many of the high spots of their repotaire including Chase The Dragon,
The Low Road, their version of The Rolling Stones’ Cocksucker Blues and Let’s
Get Funky.
Gig # 701 – Iggy And
The Stooges – Festival Hall, West Melbourne
Iggy Pop enters the
stage just as the band starts with Raw Power, the perfect opener, leading into a
pretty good Gimme Danger. Already, its
clear that The Stooges are benefitting from a crisper mix and more powerful
volume than the Beasts. (And, to be
fair, acoustically it is one of the better sounding shows I’ve experienced there.) Two completely new songs follow. The first is introduced by Iggy as Burn and
is merely OK. The other, attributed on
internet set lists as Gun, is much better.
Iggy then calls for 1970 (I Feel Alright) and the band
deliver a tight version with Williamson playing with a much greater ferocity than in
2011. The title track of Fun House
follows with the obligatory crowd invasion.
It is the night’s disappointment as the band’s attempts to improvise around
the on stage activity fails to amount to much.
Beyond The Law is much better.
Then the show absolutely explodes. A solid Search And Destroy is followed by an
amazing rendition of Johanna full of unexpected menace. The title track of the Williamson/Pop Kill
City album is next which segues into Cock In My Pocket. All stops are pulled out for an inspired I
Wanna Be Your Dog, complete with Iggy withering on the floor, with barely a
breath before the main set closer with No Fun.
The encore maintains the attack starting with Penetration
and continuing with I Got A Right at full throttle. Another new song is introduced by Iggy Dirty
(or Top 30) Deal. It’s lyrics contemptuous
of the music industry and its musical backing reminds me of tracks from Iggy’s Beat ‘Em
Up album. Your Pretty Face Is Going To
Hell is fine and the night ends with Open Up And Bleed. Iggy, sweat dripping from absolutely every
pore is the first to leave, leaving the instrumental trio to kick up an unholy
racket. Eventually Williamson departs,
feedback spitting from his guitar as the rhythm section of ex Minuteman Mike
Watt and Scott Ashton on drums get some well-deserved recognition. Eventually, Watt throws his bass away and
they walk off.
It’s a pretty impressive show all the more so for what hasn’t
been played. (There is no Loose, Dirt,
Down On The Street, 1969, TV Eye among others but many of these are from the
pre Williamson era.) Iggy is as charismatic
as ever, even if unable to sustain some of his basic moves now for any extended
period of time. Williamson is fine
albeit non flashy guitarist, Watt is exactly the type of bass player this band
requires whilst Asheton is a fine visual foil to Iggy.
I return to my car happy with the choice I’ve made. Let’s face it; you can’t always drive down
the freeway in a pink Cadillac but you won’t lose much by going down on the
street.
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