The band that takes a lickin' and keeps on kickin' ass...

LIVE: Iggy & The Stooges Hit Massey
Thursday August 07, 2008 @ 02:00 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Aug. 6, 2008
Massey Hall
Toronto, ON
By Cameron Gordon

Mere days after having their van full of gear lifted from the streets of Montreal, Iggy & The Stooges bravely soldiered forward like the gallant garage rock darlings they are. Of course, Iggy Pop and friends are an ornery bunch at the best of times, so the missing ampage only added fuel to the band's already torrid stage show.

Amazingly, the masters were nearly upstaged by the disciples as local openers Fucked Up seriously stroked the crowd with their own strand of garage punk weirdness. The band did well considering the room was two-thirds empty at game time. Vocalist Pink Eyes amused and abused with his antics, including an extended visit to the second balcony and a series of somersaults down the centre isle. Emotion must've got the most of Pink Eyes as he stated early on that Massey Hall was the source of many childhood memories, including a viewing of Cats (the musical, not the animal). As an added treat, Alexisonfire shouter George Pettit made a surprise appearance, going wail-to-wail with Pink Eyes with the two sounding like a really immature version of "Duelling Banjos" in the process. Expect big things when Fucked Up unleashes The Chemistry Of Common Life on Matador Records this fall.

The Stooges hit next and these moldy oldies rocked Massey Hall like its never been rocked before for a solid 90 minutes. People were jumping out of the balconies, water was spilled all over the floor, Iggy and the normally reserved Mike Watt humped their amps... and that was just during the first four songs. The band were wise to frontload the set with nuggets from their first two albums, with "Loose," "Down On The Street" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog" trotted out to the merriment of many.

"Real Cool Time" bled into an extended run through "No Fun." During the fracas, Pop invited dozens of onlookers on stage to jump around and (sadly) fiddle with their camera phones. Looking for the perfect shot, I guess. It's a staple of any Pop performance, but Massey Hall security obviously missed the memo as they seemed positively bemused by the onslaught. And Pop himself was no help, barking through the PA to "Let 'em go!" along with other more colourful recommendations for security.

The onslaught continued and the band trotted out saxophonist Steve MacKay to provide additional skronk to "1970" and "Fun House." The wind only added to the racket, which reached near deafening levels at times — impressive considering Massey Hall's high ceilings.

The only real drawback of the performance was that the last third of the set was largely culled from Iggy's 2003 Skull Ring solo effort and The Stooges' infamous 2007 comeback record, The Weirdness. Neither album is really as horrific as they're typically portrayed, but when Raw Power was largely ignored, we probably could've done without such forgettable pish as "Trollin'."

Otherwise, the crowd lapped up every drip from Pop's sweaty torso. Given the duress that the venue came under, it might be some time before Massey Hall books another "punk rock" band.

Here's the set list:

"Loose"
"Down On The Street"
"1969"
"I Wanna Be Your Dog"
"TV Eye"
"Real Cool Time"
"No Fun"
"1970"
"Fun House/LA Blues" (or at least a jam that was LA Blues-esque)
"Skull Ring"
"Search And Destroy"
"My Idea Of Fun"
"I Got A Right"
Encore:
"Trollin'"
"Little Electric Chair"
"Little Doll"
"I'm Fried"

Link: http://chartattack.com/DAMN/2008/08/0707.cfm

Thanks, rob, but I had to skip that show last night. Just heard from a friend who attended that it was "brutal," with more details to follow later after she rests up and changes the bandages...lol. Enjoy Dylan tonight! I'll be seeing him next week.