NIGHTLIFE
Best concert ever!
May 7th, 2006
South Florida's New Craze!
When I scored a photo pass to Iggy Pop and the Stooges for their April 13th concert at the Fox Theater, I was sure I was going to see a fairly entertaining show. Little did I realize that it would ultimately turn out to be the best damn concert that I have ever seen in my brief 48 years of existence!
That's right - THE BEST DAMN CONCERT EVER! Some would argue this point with me till their blue in the face - but I'm sticking to my guns on this one. With the exception of the Rolling Stones (who I don't much care for) I've seen all the surviving "Rock Superstars" and none don't even come close to the intensity of the talent I witnessed from The Stooges. It was simply - f'ing phenomenal
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I got word that I could get a couple of photo passes from the publicity company - Capitol Music - the Monday before the concert. They just needed names of the STLD staff photographers that were going to cover the show. Of course, I would be one of the "names" and I told them that I'd let them know the other "staff" member in a couple of days. So I called my favorite gal pal to see if she wanted to be my assistant for the night. Just as I suspected, she had no clue to who Iggy and the Stooges were and said she had to work late on Friday anyway. Oh well - guess I was gonna head down to this one on my own.
Then I remembered running into local Remax Real Estate Agent extraordinare - Cindy Sharp - at Boomer's Bike Show. She had mentioned she was taking her daughter and her teenage friend down to the show. Cindy's way cool! Not only is she the best real estate agent east of the Mississippi, she's one of the most friendly and gracious people you'd ever want to meet. So I gave her a call to hitch a ride down and she readily agreed. |
So Cindy pulls up to the house the night of the concert and I hop in the car. She introduces me to her daughter and her friend. How cool! Both were dressed in clothes from "back in the day" and were raving about how excited they were to be going to see one of their favorite “rock icons" from the 60's & 70's play live. Shit, they were as big as fans of this band as I was and they are only sixteen. This was really going to be an interesting evening.
So we had the usual and pleasant "travel time" conversations on the way downtown as we dodged all the construction and traffic. But I kept thinking to myself, what are The Stooges going to play tonight? So I made a mental note of several songs I wanted to hear - Wanna be your Dog, No Fun, 1969, Search & Destroy, Home, Lust for Life, The Passenger, Sick of You, Cry for Love and Night Clubbing - came to mind. As long as they played one of these, I'd be pleased as punch.
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We parked the car and headed over to the Fox. Downtown was buzzing and people were everywhere. I guess a Christian Convention was at Ford Field, Tragically Hip was playing the State and there might have been a Tiger Game. The streets were packed!
I separated from the girls and Cindy - and told them to enjoy the show - as I had to check in at one of the side entrances. There I waited for what seemed like hours. Finally, they came to get me and a handful of other photographers and lead us all down to the stage. On the walk down, we were told that we could only shoot the first three tunes and then we'd have to leave. Bummer! So we meander through the raucous crowd and massive clouds of weed - right down to the edge of the stage. Sweet! I positioned myself about half a foot to the right of dead center stage just in time for the lights to go down and the band to come out.
With camera in hand and elbows on the stage - I waited. Then here they come! Iggy comes skipping and jumping out to a horrendously loud roar of the crowd. He skipped and pranced to stage right as the rest of The Stooges positioned themselves with their instruments. Then….in an instant….BAM….it started.
Holy f'ing crap! I've never heard such a thumping, hard driving, pounding back beet coupled with a screaming yet rhythmic guitar in all my life. This band is incredibly tight! As I was snapping away with the camera, Iggy moved across center stage - skipping, dancing and prancing - toward stage left. I got some great shots of him cutting over so I concentrated on capturing some images of the rest of the band members.
I was in total awe. These dudes were wailing away! I don't even know what the hell song it was but these guys were ROCKING! Ron Asheton on guitar - didn't move barely a muscle of his body - but his hands were floating like magic over the strings. His brother Scott - on the drums - was pounding away like nobodies business with a driving back beat that sent quivers down my spine. Mike Watt on bass - with his blue canvass converse hi-tops and one piece mechanic suite - was thumping those bass strings with all five digits of his right hand that was just unbelievable.
Next thing I know - I got the camera lowered, my whole upper buddy was bobbin, my right leg is wagging like a tail of a pup, I'm smiling so hard I'm damn near laughing, Iggy comes prancing back from stage left, our eyes lock for a second, I mouth a smiling “F##K YEAH” at him and he stops right in front of me and starts striking poses. I immediately got back to business and snapped off about 50 rapid-fire shots before he skipped away. How cool was that!
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First tune done - second tune - boom! Wanna be your Dog - I'm in heaven snapping away pics of the performance of one of my all time favorite songs. Again, Iggy stops in front of me - just a hair to my left - and squats down. I get some more unbelievable shots! Then came the dreaded tap on the shoulder. Time for all photographers to hit the road. Shit!
So our "watcher", attempts to lead us out. First she goes right, then left to no avail. The crowd on either side is too thick. So she leads us back to the center isle and just as she and the other photographers squeeze through - here comes the stage rush - just in time. I got pushed back right into the midst of things just feet away from the stage. Hell, no way I’m leaving now, I could get killed trying to fight my way through this mass of 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 something's pushing toward the stage to get closer to their collective idol. |
And, closer they got as fifty or so of them jumped up on stage and started dancing and singing with Iggy. Normally, this would end a show - but not with this band. They kept right on playing with out missing a beat. This time, to No Fun and then immediately into 1969. In-f'ingcredible – I got to see and hear three of my most favorite Stooge tunes!
Man, I could go on and on about this show but I'm running out of room. This was the “tightest”, high energy, bombastic, thumping, most musically perfect and entertaining performances of all time! Just believe me when I tell you, this was - THE BEST CONCERT EVER! If you ever get a chance to see this band - YOU MUST GO - then you'll believe. Anyway, we got some great pictures that you can check out in the gallery section at www.stldmag.com. Also, be sure to check out The Stooges' web site and myspace page. Both have samplings of their latest recordings and some pretty interesting reading material. Go to www.iggypop.com and www.myspace.com/iggyandthestooges.
And, special thanks to Jules - publicity agent at Capital Music for making arrangements for the STLD to cover this phenomenal show. Also a big thank you to the folks at Olympia Entertainment for helping us get in touch with Jules. They always have something going on downtown so be sure to check out what they got cooking at www.olympiaentertainment.com.
--Rob Schollenberger
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