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Iggy Pop at Irving Plaza, 11/5/99
photo by Glyn Emmerson, © NY Rock
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Packing enough pistol power, punch and male testosterone to take on a team of Penthouse pets, Iggy Pop shimmied, shaked and rattled his way through a powerful set at Irving Plaza leaving the crowd knocked out, loaded and screaming for more. Like a Roman Titan spewing forth the rock gospel, Iggy Pop cajoled and taunted the crowd into submission and reaction.
As the reigning Godfather of Punk, Iggy Pop has single-handedly defined the genre with an "in your face" gonzo style revue and musical stance bucking the trends for the last thirty years. From the Stooge's 1969 debut to this year's Avenue B, Pop has lived for and on the cutting edge of the rock underworld taking in styles and abandoning them at will, yet managing to keep the force intact with a no-holds barred approach to performing.
With a pumping four-piece band punctuating his bold, deep voice and stage escapades, Pop and band embodied the power and feel of punk's glory days with the raw theatrics and confrontational zeal of Jim Morrison.
Looking lean, mean, fit and ready for battle, Pop sauntered onstage bare-chested like a WWF gladiator taking on the rock status quo. Opening with the first track off his new album, the quietly spoken "No Shit" on acoustic guitar, Pop sang in hushed tones lamenting death, growing older and his recent divorce. With the last notes of "No Shit" still reverberating in the P.A. system, Iggy then shocked the show into high gear with a rousing rendition of "Shakin' All Over."
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Iggy Pop at Irving Plaza, 11/5/99
photo by Glyn Emmerson, © NY Rock
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Kicking over microphone stands and bolting from one side of the stage to the other, Pop embraced the spirit and youth of punk with the age-old wisdom of Confucius. Stage diving into the muck and mire of the frenzied and hungry crowd during "I Wanna Be Your Dog," and taunting the crowd in shamanic tirades of cathartic proportions, performer and audience became one.
Slowing things down a bit, "I Felt the Luxury" from Avenue B, a quiet, humorous and contemplative tale of modern day love, took on an almost lounge-like feel. "Lust for Life" and other gems followed, pure Iggy and pure Pop. As performance art and spectacle, the evening peaked during "The Passenger" as audience members were invited onstage to bop, weave and jump up and down uncontrollably with the Prince of Punk.
Pushing the envelope of time and its limits on the body's physical well being, Pop's performance was tireless, honest and inspirational, rare in an age of poseurs and one-hit wonders.
November 1999
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