Bonus blog entry

I wrote this review of an Iggy Pop show I went to in 2001. It was a form letter I sent to friends. It was also before I had a blog. I present it now for your enjoyment.

Iggy Pop
Monday Oct 29, 2001. Tremont Music Hall, Charlotte.

It's impossible for me to capture the vitality of what I witnessed Monday night but here goes: Iggy came onstage shirtless and bouncing like a child. He never stopped moving throughtout the evening. It was like every demon in his soul was trying to punch its way out through his skin and he had to keep moving to keep them off balance. He addressed the crowd as "fuckers" continually but the word did not have a perjorative feel to it. It was the same form of the word you use to address your best friend.

The first song they played was "Mask" which is the first cut off his new album. "You're wearin' a mask! Which mask are you?"
He played about four songs off the new album. They all went over pretty well except for a song called "Howl" which, as the
title implies, requires a lot of howling.

The highlights of the show were "Search and Destroy" and "I Wanna be your Dog." The second featured a stage diving Iggy and an improptu crowd sing along of the chorus while Iggy crouched at the front of the stage bouncing up and down on his haunches.

Like most high-energy performers there is the stigma of violence that surrounds Iggy. Violence had nothing to do with Monday's
performance. It was a celebration of just being alive and Iggy knows that nothing makes you feel more alive than a little danger. It's not his trips into personal oblivion that made his appearance an event, it was his eclipsing of that persona that was so powerful. It's health and the limitless joy at just breathing that is important. Not being a survivor. Not the "isn't is amazing that he's still alive?" pose. Iggy Pop doesn't consider it any particular miracle he's still around. He is and he's playing rock and roll and having a good
time and entering into the temple of rock and roll ecstacy and wants to "take you there with me" as Bruce Sprigsteen said in New York.

He ended the show with "No Fun" which confused me since I was having fun and so was he and all the people around me. Certain things may suck about this world and often it is "No Fun" but that isn't any reason why 600 devotees and one manic 54 year old
can't celebrate for a little while.