Live Review: Iggy Pop @ the Greek Theatre

Iggy Pop @ the Greek Theatre

Los Angeles
04/28/16
By: J Dub

Since 2003 I have been fortunate enough to see Iggy and The Stooges play in Los Angeles three times. Of course everyone knows that the Stooges put out three absolute classic albums in the late 60’s/early 70’s and are one of the greatest rock n’ roll bands of all-time, practically inventing punk rock. Those Stooges shows were great, especially the Palladium show in 2011.

When I heard that Iggy Pop would be performing a set of all solo material at the Greek Theatre in April, I was intrigued. I knew he had a new album out but he hadn’t performed as a solo artist in Los Angeles since 1999. I was at that concert at the El Rey Theatre in Hollywood seventeen years ago. It was the first time I had ever seen him. Man, oh man, that show exceeded my expectations. I mean, at that time I was a big fan of the Stooges but I wasn’t overly crazy about Iggy’s solo albums, of which there were a bunch. I learned that night that when you cherry-pick cuts from the solo records, mix in some old Stooges material and add some cover songs, it can make for a truly fantastic show – which it was that evening. I also witnessed up close and personal in the intimate setting what a top notch and charismatic performer Iggy was…going all-out in every song with unconfined energy and wild abandon. He had the crowd moving and shaking right along with him all night long. His band was kind of loony and quirky too which was fitting. I remember a kind of rag-tag bunch of long hairs up there playing with the proper amount of funk and a guitar player that could bust out a nice searing solo when it was called for. I went back and revisited the solo Iggy records after that blistering show and spent some quality time with them – gladly finding a greater appreciation. I love it when that happens.

Fast forward to 2016 and Iggy is playing to a sold-out crowd, now in a much larger setting at the Greek Theatre in the beautiful Los Feliz hills. This time Josh Homme and some of the other Queens Of The Stone Age guys and a member of the Arctic Monkeys made up the backing band. Unlike the 1999 band, these guys were anything but rag-tag in appearance. In fact, they were well groomed and dressed almost formal in their matching red sport coats and black dress pants. The band was downright professional and businesslike. That’s not to say that they didn’t rock hard. They did. They were up for the task – hitting every chord, keeping every beat, and nailing every backup vocal just right. They played each song like they were their own (which the new ones actually are) and stayed true to the original energy and spirit of the earlier material. It was reminding me of what Keith Richards did for Chuck Berry in the film Hail! Hail! Rock ‘N’ Roll – putting together a supreme band and holding it down at a high level with spot-on precision while the master shined.

The band came out first and set the groove. After the first few bars of Lust For Life, Iggy came jumping out from the back of the stage and whipped the crowd into form. As the music played, Josh Homme stepped to the mic and announced “ladies and gentlemen – Mr. Iggy Pop”! The crowd roared with approval and the night began on a high. It was just about the perfect set opener. All the songs this evening would be drawn off the first two David Bowie produced albums from 1977 – The Idiot and Lust For Life, plus the brand new Post Pop Depression release which was recorded with Homme and the QOTSA bunch. After a handful of songs Iggy asked if any of the poor people in the back wanted to come up front. “Let them through” he told the security and with that encouragement a bunch of folks happily rushed to the front of the stage and filled the isles of the lower seating area. My buddy and I also left our stage-left upper reserve seats at this time and went downstairs to make our way towards the action. We got down below and ran into a bunch of people we knew. It was a regular party down there. Lots of people were hanging around drinking, smoking, and dancing. The music was coming at us much more forcefully, our viewing angle was better and we were far closer to the performance (and with easy access to the bar!). We immediately partook in the good vibes and ended up staying there for the rest of the evening, not feeling the need to get right down by the stage.

On numerous occasions throughout the moody two hour set Iggy jumped into the outstretched arms of the throng up front, ran halfway up the aisles to reach farther back to his crowd, playfully dry-humped various pieces of stage gear, and actively bounded back and forth across the large stage…covering a lot of ground. The man has not lost much energy as he ages nor has he lost the will to connect with his audience – physically and aurally. The highlights for me were “Funtime”, the fabulously sarcastic “Nightclubbing”, “The Passenger” – which had the entire crowd pulsating in unison, and “China Girl” – the song that ended the regular set. The encores were next and, among others, we were treated to the straight ahead Peter Gunn-like rocker “Repo Man” (the lone song of the evening that wasn’t drawn off of one the three aforementioned albums), “Paraguay” (which was probably the best song played off the new release), and “Success” (off the Lust For Life album) – which ended the show the way it began…perfectly!

Although Iggy has hinted that this might be the last record and tour he ever does, the intent and feeling of this night was not about saying goodbye or seeing an icon one last time. It was about celebration, and relevance, and being in the moment. We walked away from this show buzzing and with a smile on our faces. Iggy Pop lives!