I was at Iggy Pop Tuesday night.
The only reason this happened is that my sister
Maria created a Perfect Playlist and NRK used it, winning a set of tickets that
she couldn't use, but my friend and I could. Thank you Maria and KNRK, 94/7
Alternative Portland!
The first thing I'm going to say is that he didn't
play any of my three favorite songs. For the record, those are
"Candy", "Living On The Edge Of The Night" (neither of
which was really expected), and "Real Wild Child", which I really
thought he would play and that I would be interested to see it.
Not hearing it ended up feeling more appropriate.
There was so much from the new album, Post Pop Depression, that it
almost felt like doing something so predictable and old would be wrong.
(I am also very susceptible to Pop singing in
French, which he does beautifully, but that was not a part of the concert and
that was fine.)
His rich history was represented as well. We
especially appreciated what felt like a tribute to David Bowie in the inclusion
of "Tonight" and "Little China Girl". Pop started the show
with an energizing version of "Lust For Life", ended with a version
of "Success" that was so rousing it was almost not possible to believe
the music was really ending, and for the conclusion of the first set,
"Little China Girl" was paired with "The Passenger".
I was pretty sure "The Passenger" would
come. The set design gave the impression of a highway with a stripe down the
middle, and there were lights running horizontally that invoked a speedway. As
colors and timing changed, that was not how they always looked, but that
opening impression of going for a ride stayed with me.
Even with that expectation, I had no way of
predicting how powerful "The Passenger" would be when it came. That
pairing, where it came together with "Little China Girl" and we were all
on our feet, would have been a perfect finale. Then he came back, and instead
of a short encore they played a full other set that touched new heights and
depths. I can't accurately tell you how the timing went, but I believe they
played for two hours, with only a very short break.
They in this case included a support band that were
all dressed like young Elvis, which felt right (especially given Josh Homme's
hips). They included Dean Fertita, Matt Helders, Matt Sweeny, Troy Van Leeuwen,
and most famously Josh Homme, who collaborated with Pop on writing the Post
Pop Depression album. There is a lot of talent and skill there, but it was
almost impossible to take eyes off of Pop.
I'm sure he feels age (Pop will be 69 on April
21st), but his stamina appears to be unfailing, his voice remains strong, and
he still dances in the way that he always has. If he has let some of the wilder
behaviors go, he still let the crowd bear him up several times. At the same
time I know that's dangerous, I feel like his confidence is well-founded.
Truthfully, Pop's banter as he set up the songs was
often a bit awkward, and truthfully it didn't matter. As he would have ask for
the lights to be turned up so he could see us, he would wave at different parts
of the audience, including sections that were really close together. It felt
like he didn't want anyone left out, and it was amazingly sweet.
And then he would just rock.
The concert was a great experience, and I hope I
have conveyed at least something of that. I also want to recommend checking out
NPR's All Songs Considered with Pop and Homme, as it is interesting and has
some good insight into the album.
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