"This is pretty low-brow, isn't it?", says the
grinning reptile that is Iggy Pop, sweat dripping from every pore
of his much battered body. The question doesn't need an answer.
After witnessing the 49-year-old veteran going through a stage
act which sees him exposing himself frequently, copulating with
the equipment and performing ritual intercourse with a pretty
young punter, the audience is in complete agreement. Yes, this
is pretty low brow, and a helluva lot of fun as well.
The live show is Iggy Pop's domain. The man is a legend not so
much for his songs, but for the intense manner in which he performs
them.
With his original band, The Stooges, he almost single-handedly
invented punk rock, and his on-stage personality has become much
copied by the nihilistic wannabes of following generations.
Unlike the pretenders, though, Iggy has made these antics his
own. One minute he's screaming Lust for Life at the audience,
the next he's crooning Sister Midnight, bathed in a sexy
red light. And of course, like all good rock n' roll shows, everyone's
invited on-stage for their 15 minutes of fame during The Passenger.
He is the grand master of the pageant, and revels in the attention
much like a small child.
You can always tell it's been a good show when bands end up sodomising
rock n' roll classics. Sure enough, Iggy and the trailer-park
dropouts that comprise his band leave us with suitably screwed-up
renditions of Johnny Be Good and Wild Thing. Time
for one final stage-dive and then Iggy is gone, leaving us with
an electrifying experience and a smelly sock.
by Niall Byrne.
pictures by An Sasanach.
