HardRockChick https://hardrockchick.com Wed, 03 Jul 2024 00:48:30 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://hardrockchick.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/icon.png HardRockChick https://hardrockchick.com 32 32 Horror Business: The Original Misfits, Iggy Pop, Social Distortion, Bad Religion, Sublime, The Damned @ No Values, Pomona Fairgrounds, 6/8/24 https://hardrockchick.com/horror-business-the-original-misfits-iggy-pop-social-distortion-bad-religion-sublime-the-damned-no-values-pomona-fairgrounds-6-8-24/ Wed, 03 Jul 2024 00:48:30 +0000 https://hardrockchick.com/?p=20297 “Too much horror businessDriving late at nightPsycho 78My bathroom is newYou, you don’t go in the bathroom with mePsycho 7812 o’clock, don’t be lateAll this horror businessMy mirrors are blackYou don’t go in the bathroom with meWith youI’ll put a knife right in youI’m warning you” “Murder Business”, The Misfits  Live music.  It is something I have dreamed about, participated in, studied, and admired over the course of my life. In a perpetually changing world, there is something ‘evergreen’ about live music; the bell & whistles around it, the spaces, the faces, the technology may change… but at it’s core, live music is one of the more primal, visceral experiences we have left on this planet. People buy tickets->People gather->People play->People go home. It’s predictable…it’s exciting…it’s a distraction from your life. These are the promises of live music.  Perhaps that’s why the business of live music is booming. Those that can barely scrape together money for life’s basic necessities, are somehow scrimping and saving to buy that increasingly expensive concert ticket. Artists, whose revenue streams are drying up faster than the Colorado River, are increasingly out ‘on the road’, one of the last frontiers for getting paid for their art alongside slanging a shirt or two at the merch booth.  Everyone from Gen A to Boomers claim live music improves their mental health, and this pairs nicely alongside the social media fodder that live music has become. An artist staring out into a crowd and a sea of phones stare back. The more things change, the more they stay the same…  The Festival.  While showing signs of cracks in the foundation, festivals have enjoyed a renaissance the past 10 or so years, if not for true cultural cache as for viral moments and brand activations.  So evocative were Monterey Pop and Woodstock, onto the US Festival and Lollapalooza, to current days’ Coachellas and Bonaroos. They were rites of passage, so important that simply being able to say “I was there” can grant one a ‘cool pass’, if at the very least be one of the Most Memorable Moments of a person’s life. The way that a music festival can help convey the sentiment, personality, and preferences of the decade it is no wonder that they are historically fodder for documentaries about certain eras. The music festival is a sacred thing.  So how the fuck did No Values Fest get it so wrong?    Somewhere into the second hour of sitting in traffic trying to get into the Pomona Fairplex, I was questioning all my life choices. But wait! It got worse…once we made it to our instructed lot, the attendant lackadaisically said “No VIP parking here, you have to go to another lot”. No apology, no sympathy, no emotion at all. It was punk as fuck! Meanwhile my head was exploding and I could hear wafting through the air the chaotic chords of “Destro’s Secret” as Dillinger Escape Plan took the stage with their original singer for the first time in… a long time. I am so pissed off about missing that set I’m not even gonna look it up.  Another 40-min to turn around, find another lot, and be denied VIP again and sent to park way back in general parking, which required a literally hike to get to the entrance. AND THEN, while getting into the fest itself wasn’t a huge line, the VIP ‘perks’ were pretty silly. For paying that much more for tickets, there is an EXPECTATION set… and knowing what I know in my line of work (consumer research and UX) I began to get the sense that someone in the powers that be of this festival had run numbers, cut funds to certain things and staff for parking, and said “FUCK THOSE STUPID PUNKS!”.

 

Who the fuck is going to wear an ‘I <3 Pomona’ pin?!

AND THEN there was security… or the lack thereof… which normally I wouldn’t complain about but this is a festival and People These Days are insane. Go on social media and look at r/novaluesfestival and read all of the shit people got in due to this. Good for them, but it was just another Wild West element to this shit show of a festival. So after walking in and finding where the main stages were, I could see smoke billowing and just knew I had missed something iconic (Ben Hendrix’ed his guitar). Literally the last notes were playing as the stage came into view.  For those saying “plan better”… there is no way I could have planned for the rigamarole clusterfuck of a mess getting into this festival was, and I’m not 18 and able to spend an entire day in the hot sun. And why are you sticking up for an organization that royally fucked up in the name of their bottom line?

Fun old pic of the aftermath of my first DEP show. Left the timestamp for PROOF. Left a nice scar.

We find the VIP area and realize… this isn’t exactly what we envisioned. It’s huge, there are SO many people, little shade as advertised, and the bathrooms aren’t much better than the general area. In fact, it just felt gross… an emblem of corporate greed where festival goers were separated by class- those who could pay more and those who could not… or, come to find out, weren’t ballsy enough to just walk into VIP without VIP wristbands since security WASN’T EVEN CHECKING!

OK, so it wasn’t all bad. Most concerts & festivals have come a looooonnnngg way in providing food & drink options. I mean, the individual vendors tents were so numerous it could have been mistaken as a food & drink festival that happened to have music. Bless those of you who wanted sushi at a punk festival in 90-degree heat.

And the people-watching was glorious. Really- chef’s kiss on this element.  I love it when people get dressed for the show.  It was like your high school punk’s locker & Trapper Keeper come to life.  From a Plasmatics battle vest, to another one that was freakin’ Labyrinth themed ‘(“The Babe With The Power“) to all sorts of attire and body mods and hair that looked like flash cards given to a new teacher advising them who to likely expel.  I wish I had taken pics but 1) creepy 2) I was too pissed off!

So, about the music…

As with any festival, you had to make some decisions and the stages were quite far apart. I’m old, and I don’t go to a TON of festivals, but I remember the days when the main stages had side by sides, and they switched off sides to limit time between sets and you didn’t have to move around that much. Those were the days! This layout had the potential to turn into a true marathon; it was apparently a nightmare for any ADA attendees, which is a shame.

We ended up shuttling back and forth between the two main stages, and not leaving to trek to a smaller one, except for one point where we were snuck backstage for a hot second, and then kicked out for not having the right credentials, because no one knows WHO I AM anymore since I went into hiding in the desert years ago.

Anyway, we watched most of The Damned trying to find the perfect slice of shade. They have aged well since I saw them back at Slim’s SF in 2008. 20 minutes into the set and they had barely played any songs I recognized, and I had finished my drink and my brain was melting. Back to a drink line…

Next up, Suicidal Tendencies.  Now, I had seen them a couple years ago at Psycho Las Vegas, which I have to say was infinitely better than this crock of shit. I am not an ST fan- my husband is though- and I have to say that seeing ST on essentially their home turf was great. And yes, DEP’s guitarist also plays in ST as does Rob Trujillo of Metallica’s son, who looks like a child up there, because I am now old. But on the outside looking in, it is endearing to see this community singing along to the lyrics, especially a sea of men who don’t look like the ‘singing along with the song’ type.

And then, I did watch a bit of Sublime, because I’m a ’90s kid and that self-titled album was Standard Issue in my Big Binder of CDs, because I was a true MTV kid who had that nestled against Nine Inch Nails and The Doors and Garth Brooks. Yes, I know it’s the son of the dead singer performing now… but it was fun and this was the point where things turned a bit in the crowd and everyone took on a shade of pinkish red on their burning skin, and toxicity levels started to reach Maximum Impact.

Then, in one of the biggest regrets of my recent life, I watched a bit of Bad Religion. I hate this band. It made me physically ill and I had to go lie down in the grass. This is an area of punk that makes me want to shove people in lockers because Goths > Heshers > Punks sometimes in my book. STOP TELLING ME HOW TO LIVE MY LIFE!!! Why is someone’s dad onstage? These were the thoughts going through my head. But- my husbands enjoys it so this is that part of marriage where they talk about ‘compromise’. This was also when I noticed that the screens on the sides of the stage between sets flashed messages like “IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING” amongst other threats and ‘advisements’. Was I at an airport?! Why all of the commands, isn’t this supposed to be fun?!

But next would be The Only Redeeming Thing about No Values… Iggy Pop! I’ve seen Iggy five times I think, and each time is great in its own way, but this time will be important because it saved my sanity that day. After seeing him last year as Iggy & The Losers, this was a different band, featuring Nick Zenner from the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s on guitar and with a BRASS SECTION, which was amazing! I don’t think I’ve ever seen him with horns. In fact, many of the sets that day had a FULL band, which was a nice change of pace.  This set was incredible. There were many bands that day that you may find yourself thinking ‘maybe this is the last time‘ but as the ‘Godfather of Punk’, his presence was so important at this festival if not just proof to myself that I am still alive and not just a person that works a job these days. Not only is Iggy Pop an iconoclast of his time, but also to humanity… who woulda thunk he would still be busting a move onstage here is 2024? I was happy to see droves of people going crazy; some that I overheard saying they were there purely out of curiosity and unfamiliar with him. That is the point of festivals, really: exposure. How many times have I sat through a set by some band I’d never heard of… or had heard they were good… or knew a bit of the lore, only to become a fan in that moment? Certainly lots grace these pages. It’s low stakes in a festival environment; you’ve got to fill the time somehow, and why not?

This set was also magnificent because of the setlist… look at this (stolen from Louder):

TV Eye
Raw Power
I Got A Right – (last played in 2003)
Gimme Danger
The Passenger
Lust For Life
Death Trip
Loose
I Wanna Be Your Dog
Search And Destroy
Down On The Street
1970  – (last played in 1989)

Whenever you are a fan, and you get to be at a set that has not one but two “last played…”, congratulations: you have arrived a Peak Fan Moment. Key moments were crying during “Gimme Danger” (I have a tattoo) and feeling elated for the man brought on stage to sing along with Iggy for “Lust For Life” and he knew all the words!

“Well, I’m just a modern guyOf course, I’ve had it in my ear before‘Cause of a lust for life‘Cause of a lust for life”

We can’t hear that song without thinking of Trainspotting. Now did that movie scare you away from heroin, or make you want to do it? Discuss amongst yourselves.

Also “Down On The Street” makes me think of Season 3, Episode 1 of Eastbound and Down – one of the best shows (and maybe seasons) of all time (I also have a tattoo, “La Flama Blanca“)

Anyway, it was a magical set that truly felt like a special festival treat, as these sets should.

Next up: Social Distortion. I saw Social D for the first time a few years ago in Detroit back when I stopped writing about shows. This is another of my husband’s bands… I cannot deal but it was super fun to watch the crowd. Lead singer, Mike Ness, has been through a throat cancer battle, and it is pretty amazing that he is back at it. However, of all the sets the sound on this one was total dogshit. I mean sometimes it was so quiet it felt like the sound guy had fallen asleep. I know a lot about Social D for someone who doesn’t listen to them because one of my husband’s North Stars is Mike Ness. Have you ever seen the documentary Another State of Mind? It is wonderful.

 

Headlining the event was The Misfits. I would normally be more excited about this, but we started to have PTSD about getting out of this venue hard. We left to watch a few songs from the general area… enough to catch Danzig’s polarizing “PLANDEMIC” quote (I laughed). The last time I saw Danzig play Misfits songs it was the last rock show at the Gibson Amphitheater. It was legendary. This should have been legendary, but droves up people were leaving due to issues with their sound, issues with Danzig’s remark, and issues with parking. We tramped out of there to the sounds of “Some Kinda Hate”, which was fitting for what was to come.

We sat in a deadlock in the parking lot for close to 3 hours barely moving. People were yelling, peeing, sleeping… it was atrocious. I will never go back to that venue, or that festival, again.

“There’s some kinda loveAnd there is some kinda hateI’m gonna tell you all about it now”

]]> A New Level: Metallica, Pantera, and Mammoth VH @ SoFi Stadium Los Angeles, 8/25/23 https://hardrockchick.com/a-new-level-metallica-pantera-and-mammoth-vh-sofi-stadium-los-angeles-8-25-23/ Mon, 04 Sep 2023 19:53:40 +0000 https://hardrockchick.com/?p=20268 “Now a new look in my eyes my spirit riseForget the pastPresent tense works and lastsGot shit on, pissed on, spit on, stepped onFucked with pointed at by lesser men
New life in place of old lifeUnscarred by trials
A new levelOf confidenceAnd power”
“A New Level” ~Pantera
The year was 1994, and I was peeling back the shrink-wrap on Far Beyond Driven; snuggling the murky blue cover and CD in alongside NIN’s The Downward Spiral, Soundgarden’s Superunknown, Alice in Chain’s Jar of Flies, Hole’s Live Through This, STP’s Purple, and The Crow Soundtrack…because 1994 was a strong year for music. It went between NIN and STP because you know I had my shit alphabetized.  I would get to know every curve of Far Beyond Driven; it would inspire mosh pits in my room, catchphrases with friends “Yeah… PANTERA!”, but most importantly, Texas Pride. In those days, everything seemed to be from the far away lands of Seattle and California, but this was damn near local! Even if Arlington was almost the entire state away from me… the huge expanse of Texas.  1994 was an important year for people my age into music like me; it was the year Kurt Cobain died, and as the kid that was always the biggest Nirvana fan that anyone knew, a part of my innocence went away that year. I felt really connected to the other 27 club deaths of the late 60s/early 70s, and just felt like I was living in the modern day version of this. The era I lived in would be important politically and musically… I just knew it! I felt it deep in my bones.
Pantera’s groove metal was an important part of my large CD binder from then on.  I remember when The Great Southern Trendkill came out, and I would just drive around the Texas Hill Country backroads, drinking shit beer, listening to “Suicide Note, Pt. 1 & 2” and think, “Oh no… are they ok?!” I was already untrusting of the well-being of my favorite rock stars and felt personally invested. I was also extremely naive. I would see Pantera twice in those days; I wish I could remember it better but it was a long time ago. The second time was an Ozzfest- and I was really there for Pantera and not giving a shit about ANYONE else there which is a shame looking back; I watched half of a Black Sabbath reunion and went home early because I was bored.
Then I remember getting a live album and Reinventing the Steel, but by then I was in college and had other priorities.  Pantera just kinda faded into the background and if ever brought up, it was a band that “I used to be super into“.
Then came December 2004.
Exactly 10 years after I had picked up that first album, Dimebag was gone. 10 years after Cobain’s death, here we were again.
What a fucking tragedy… Dimebag was the best! I don’t think what happened that night is talked about nearly enough, made nearly enough impact… and I work in the firearms industry! There are too many insane people roaming around today; let’s keep those insane people out of our music venues, please.
It wasn’t long after that that I moved to San Francisco and started this blog.  I realized that Pantera was not very popular in the Bay Area! But in my work the The Recording Academy and The Revolver Golden Gods Awards I got to stand near Vinnie Paul Abbott multiple times, Phil Anselmo once (I would have interviewed him if I hadn’t been brought- wait for it- James Hetfield), and I interviewed Rex Brown at least one time. That 14 year old still inside me was freaking out.
My point is, Pantera were a fundamental band in my teenage existence, and beyond.  There was always some sort of Metal Magic about them floating around the ether in my realm; someone worked for my parent’s company that went to high school with Dimebag and sat in a truck with him at a party where he popped in a cassette and was played the Cowboys From Hell riff for the first time… we took our Bengals- names Dimebag and Vinnie Paul… to a vet where the tech went to high school with the Abbotts… I mean WHAT?! Arlington is kinda big but did everyone of a certain age in Texas go to high school with the Abbott brothers?!
On the day of this Metallica and Pantera show, I was supposed to be in Las Vegas seeing Danzig, Behemoth, Twin Temple, and Midnight… but it was rescheduled.  So I moved things around to make it to this show instead of another one, and I’m glad I did because it was literally one for the record books.
The last time I was at SoFi was for Wrestlmania earlier this year, so I knew it was a slog to get in and out of.  Totally worth paying for premium parking, so that once you get through hours of LA traffic, you’re just steps from being inside.  We listened to Mammoth VH finish their set while going through softball security… I got a security clear bag now and they don’t even want to look in it?! OK fine. Anyway, I saw Wolfgang play with his dad at the last Van Halen show during a period of time where I was not writing on here anymore which is a bummer because it was a magical show.
Once down on the floor, I was overwhelmed with emotions.  I cannot sit in seats for metal shows- sorry- if I make it to my 70s I’ll be down there with a walker. Being on the floor of a huge stadium like that is like being swallowed by a whale; call me Ishmael.  It is overwhelming and exciting. I am used to Metallica’s ‘in the round’ stage setup, but it is quickly clear that this is more complex.  It has probably been ten years since I’ve seen Metallica and something is different in the air… it wasn’t until later that I would recall what.
We just walked right up into view of one drum set and stood in a spot that seemed like it would be safe.  There were not that many people around and the seats were at least half empty!  Before I knew it, I spotted Phil Anselmo, and they all popped up on stage and the show began.  Starting with “A New Level” was like taking my excitement from 0 to ludicrous speed in .5 seconds. I didn’t know I still had it in me.  People were staring because I know how to have a good time still. Do you know how many times I have uttered the line “This is going to take things to A WHOLE NEW LEVEL… OF CONFIDENCE… AND POWER” in a professional setting? A lot. I have to amuse myself somehow.
I quickly realized that band members were disappearing, that the stage was much bigger than I realized.  Like it could be a full song before you saw anyone again as they took another trip around the field.  It was kind of dumb, but I would still rather be on the ground than stuck in a seat.
Finally some people started gathering that seemed like they knew who Pantera were.  I think it was just where I was, but it was a bit of a walkway for the usual clickity-clack laminate crowd that drag down LA shows.  When did those people get so young… when did their ‘metal’ shirts start to look so new… and then it dawned on me: The Stranger Things Effect! D’oh! The Tik Tok Generation was there to see Metallica because they just learned about them through Stranger Things.  This is adorable.
At this point in the show, they were a bit doe-eyed because I think Pantera was too heavy for them.  It’s ok- I started with Metallica, too…
At this point I think it’s ridiculous the hoopla over the Pantera ‘reunion’ or ‘celebration’ or whatever we are calling this now.  You cannot let this band die.  I knew before I saw it that Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante were excellent choices for this. I also know- from seeing Pantera live a couple times in the 90s- that a whole generation had not had the chance to experience Pantera live.  This is crucial.  Pantera’s music truly flexes when it’s experienced socially. You need to groove together! It’s mosh material! Yes- I have cried alone in my car driving fast to Pantera, I’ve even gone to sleep listening to Pantera… but to scream and pump my fist with bunch of other crazies while screaming “You keep this love, love, love!” was a much needed communal experience.
I do have to say that the “Cemetery Gates” Dimebag and Vinnie Paul tribute was quite shorter than expected- waaaayy shorter than Wylde does at a BLS show– but I guess expected as an opener for Metallica.
Then came the moment when Phil ask- “How many of you saw Pantera back in the 90s?“
I was the only one in my area.
It’s weird getting older: it felt like an eternity that I lived my life having missed out on everything cool.  Everyone older than me had hoovered up all the cool experiences and left none for me.  I would never have any cool experiences for myself, that anyone else would be jealous us- I was sure of it…
And then one day I woke up, and I had done all of these things that kids younger than me will never ever get to do.
And trust me, I got NO PROBLEM telling them ALL ABOUT IT!
That’s why I’ve documented my concert experiences in this blog- shit has changed drastically since I started this in 2007. I’ve seen things you wouldn’t believe! This first time I held my phone up and took a pic of live music to tweet out! Everything a meticulous capture of culture at the time, as reflected through music.  Because as time, and music, marches on… things are not only evolutionary but revolutionary… maddening… and there are so many people we have lost.
Before I knew it, Pantera were saying their goodbyes, and I was eating a piece of pizza.
We moved to a slightly different place for Metallica, and that just happened to be by Corey Feldman.  Yeah yeah, I know- EVERYONE else was talking about moshing with Jason Momoa or seeing John Travolta, Tommy Lee, John 5, The Miz, and a whole crazy mix of other people…. but I’m sorry, I’ll stand in front of the dude from Lost Boys and License to Drive, thank you very much.
People started to pour in from everywhere as AC/DC -> Ennio cranked up, but when “Creeping Death” began- even with earplugs firmly in, apparently we were standing next to the drum sound, because it nearly stopped my heart from beating.  Once relocated, the sound was still very strange, but less of a near death experience.  Here is where I felt we resumed Typically Metallica Fanbase Experience™ – people in large groups, traveled from near and far, very international crowd, multi-generational Metallica families, and lest we not forget ‘guy who has already passed out on the floor by song number two with friend panicking nearby’.
Onto “Harvester of Sorrow”- I was reflecting on how huge an entity Metallica are.  In fact, I realized that a long time ago, I stopped seeing Metallica as a band and instead look at them as a BRAND (that’s my job).  They are so interesting in that sense- never stopping- never afraid to try something new, never showing the fear of success that hinders so many bands in the genre.  And perhaps all of these things have come to their detriment in some ways, but you have to shed skin to move forward.
I’ve always been kind of the outsider in the bunch of friends who are hardcore Metallica fans, err, family; this really goes back to the “Nothing Else Matters” video.  The year was 1992, it was played incessantly on MTV, and while I loved “The Black Album”… I found this video to be so disappointing and boring (I was 12).  Like they are just sitting there playing in a studio… give me a story! I changed the channel every time. From then on Metallica was always dinged in my book because I am petty.  What can I say- I was living in the era of November Rains.  Fast forward to “Some Kind of Monster” and while I thought it was super interesting that they did that, I was just like ‘hmmmm’.   HMMMMM.  So I have just always been the asshole at Metallica shows with friends crying during songs going “awww Metallica FAMILY”… but don’t worry, they have all given it right back to me during NIN things.  We all have our bands we get weird about….
Anyway…this tour was ‘No Repeats” so the setlist was a big focus, which is always exciting because you never know what may happen.  I’ve seen Metallica in a lot of weird situations over the years- Bridge School Benefit… home town shows, Orion Festival, GRAMMY Awards, so I have been kind of spoiled.  But for me, to return after about 10 years, it was crazy to just see them so happy and playful. No putting on a moment of ‘evil-ness’, no sense of danger… we’re not even pretending any more.  It’s been interesting to see how this all ages, and on this night- the answer was WELL.  IT IS AGING VERY WELL.
Due to a long drive back to the desert, we left a bit early.  Hearing Metallica play us out, along with the muffled crowd’s cheers felt otherworldly, as the distance between me and the world’s largest metal band grew even further and more muffled.
]]> Gimme Danger: Iggy Pop & The Losers with Grace McKagan @ The Pearl Las Vegas, 4/29/23 https://hardrockchick.com/gimme-danger-iggy-pop-the-losers-with-grace-mckagan-the-pearl-las-vegas-4-29-23/ https://hardrockchick.com/gimme-danger-iggy-pop-the-losers-with-grace-mckagan-the-pearl-las-vegas-4-29-23/#comments Mon, 29 May 2023 23:10:17 +0000 https://hardrockchick.com/?p=20254 “Gimme danger, little strangerAnd I feel with you at easeGimme danger, little strangerAnd I’ll feel your disease
There’s nothing in my dreamsJust some ugly memoriesKiss me like the ocean breeze
Now, if you will be my loverI will shiver and singBut if you can’t be my masterI will do anything”
Gimme Danger, The Stooges
Some people are just born cool. Or are they molded into it by circumstance? Is it the alignment of the planets and stars, the programming of genes; or is it the childhood experience, the cultural zeitgeist of your teenage years that forms your being? Nature vs. nurture, a timeless biological and psychological disharmony… is it relevant to one’s ‘coolness’?  My BA in Psychology neglected to discuss this.
Jim Osterberg Jr, otherwise known as Iggy Pop, is one of those iconic artists that has always been attached to the idea of ‘cool’.  Even when you are young and you just become marginally aware of his existence in the entire catalog of artists in the world, it is immediately conveyed to you that this person is universally acknowledged as ‘cool’.  Not into punk or even rock music? Still cool.  Not even into music? Still cool.  Cool lives in the corners of the way that people talk about things; you can just sense it, even when your mind is young.  This is an unachievable feat; even more so for someone with as long and varied a career as he’s had.  Mr. Pop bubbles to the top of icons that are universally loved beyond their music for just being a caricature of themselves: Dolly, Willie, Keith, Iggy. These are people who are authentic to a fault, produced more work than even the most voracious fans could ever absorb, and never forgot where they came from.  I mean Iggy has gone from this to this in the span of his career!  What was once dangerous will become commercialized at some point I guess.
I drove from a different desert in a different state for the show, and began the day at the somewhat new Punk Rock Museum.  It was really cool to see an entire museum dedicated to punk, complete with a bar and soon to be open wedding chapel and tattoo parlor.  In the music room, you can play gear owned by actual famous artists, which seems crazy but also totally punk rock.  One of the docents explained the extreme measures the museum went to checking provenance of items- everything displayed has been validated as real/used. That’s unusual for a museum as a lot of things you tend to see behind glass are replicas and the museum-goers are unknowingly duped.  So I definitely appreciated this. Also, Fat Mike from NOFX was there so it really was a living museum!
The museum is essential right next to Little Darlings and it wasn’t quite time to check in to our hotel yet. So why not pop in and waste an hour? Yeah so it was a totally nude club- which means no alcohol- but luckily we were buzzed from the museum (words I never thought I’d type) so we had a little adventure there for an hour.  Being the only people in a strip club does have it’s advantages.
Several hours later, we ended up at The Pearl early.  It was my first time at this venue in a long time, but I’ve seen a lot of insane shows here.  We ended up being up against the barricade and had a fun conversation with an MMA fighter turned security guard who had fought Brock Lesnar in the past.  I found this highly amusing.
The show began with Grace McKagan as the opener; daughter of Duff McKagan who would be playing in Iggy’s band.  I would be tempted to say that it is refreshing to see younger musicians playing rock music with the way that it’s been sidelined in today’s society, but she is Duff and Susan’s daughter and that would out me as a curmudgeon.  It was also be cheap to say that she clearly gets inspiration from Courtney Love and Shirley Manson because she is her own person, and this comes through.  She has been at it, now, indeed, a long time, as I started to become aware of the Pink Slips when I was preparing to interview Duff nearly ten years ago.  I could see him proudly watching on. A perfect mix of strength, emotional vulnerability, and mystery- their set served as an appropriate warm up to what was to come.
In typical Las Vegas style, it became abundantly clear that most of the people around me- at the front of the venue for Pete’s sake- did not know much about Iggy Pop.  No one got my peanut butter joke.  The person next to me was a Duff fan.  Sure enough, by the end of the show none of these people remained as it got a bit too crazy for them.  It was announced that tonight was being filmed which is always an interesting experience- everyone gives extra but the lights stay on.  When Iggy walked out, the hitch in his step from scoliosis that has become more prominent over time was nearly hobbling him it seemed. I was concerned. The last time I saw Iggy was probably one of the craziest shows I have ever seen, but that was ten years ago.
It didn’t take long for me not to be worried.
So the first few songs were from the album Every Losers, recently released by this project Iggy Pop and The Losers, a super group of sorts featuring the aforementioned Duff McKagan (GNR), Chad Smith (RHCP), and producer Andrew Watt (Ozzy Osbourne). Joining them on this tour also was Jamie Hince (The Kills).  Iggy’s mantra is to write simplistically, ‘like Soupy Sales’, and these songs don’t depart from that… this is his nineteenth studio album after all.  The new material sounds great, but with every storied artist there is that bit of hesitation with the crowd.  But the band are just getting warmed up. And then “Raw Power” hits and it’s like those guitar chords just split the ether; suddenly we are all in a punk multiverse.  It’s the past and the present…. hell, it’s even the future.  Raw Power got a Magic Touch….Iggy is both taunting and alluring the crowd; I am at the end of a curved barricade so I have a perfect view of everyone in the middle.  Grown men are crying whilst Iggy has his hip cocked out spewing his speech at them. It’s a masterclass in didactic lyrics in artistic performance and subservient crowd worship.  Bodies are flying over the rail, some run towards the stage, arms outstretched, yearning for more.  Somewhere during “T.V. Eye”, the Godfather of Punk is hovering over me. I can see the pupils in his blue eyes.  The tribal beat of the song synchs with my heart rate as I enter a live music trance, where I’m deeply aware I’m having one of those moments I’m going to lock away forever.
I’m comfortable in speaking for most people in saying that when we grow up, we tend to put on a pedestal the era or two that came before us. Then there’s the culture we experience in real time as a teenager/young adult.  Then there’s the rest of it.  There’s something about the stuff that came before us that will always be fantastical, because of the way that history is told to us and remembered.  A lot of the bad & the boring are left out.  So for me, one of those amazing storyline’s players are Bowie and Iggy.  Whenever I’ve had the chance to be close enough to see Iggy Pop’s pupils, it’s been surrealler than Dali. These are the people that cast a thread through my life that have affected me day to day; what I wear, what I watch, what I’m into.  They’re my nurture.
The band was spastically wailing away.  To back up your idol must be a joy.  Onto “The Passenger”, my favorite Iggy album if I had to choose one would be The Idiot. I will admit I discovered this album when I learned that Ian Curtis of Joy Division was listening to it when he killed himself, because I am more goth than you. It is a masterpiece. “Lust For Life” is so entwined with Trainspotting and all of the feels that come along with that live inside it’s own warm, Irish-accented bubble.  I have now dodged about the 100th Chad Smith-flung drum stick as we slide into “Gimme Danger”.  Maybe it’s because I have this tattooed on my arm, in Stooges font, which proved to be a helluva move a couple months before a worldwide pandemic hit, but this was one of the songs of the night.  So many cups and bottles being rocketed on stage at this point. A war rages inside me: how dare they/proper punk show here. Iggy croons; his voice is strong if not shades worn from decades of danger.  And then…the belt starts to come undone.
“Loose” is crass, and totally awesome.  The man still has all his signature moves.  Somewhere around here he still managed a stage dive. I mean I’ve even given up my stage diving days and I’m a few decades younger.  The rhythmic thudding of “Nightclubbing” followed; the rendition this evening was extra-spicy, extra Vegas. I can remember first hearing this song and just being mesmerized.  Like, what is this genre? what kind of drugs are they on? what are they about? and where do I sign up? kind of person-defining questions materialized. The main set ended with the always rowdy “Search and Destroy”. The pants are nearly falling down, and does Iggy have a landing strip?
Quickly onto the encore, we were treated to a seated, pensive “Walk on the Wild Side”, followed by a totally mental “I Wanna Be Your Dog” and finally “Louie Louie”.  As we left the venue, we were filmed a lot.  I remember I used to be at so many shows that I was a regular fixture on AXS TV.  The merch line was long, but I got this about a week later as an anniversary present, signed by the man himself.
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about Kurt Cobain, after listening to one of my favorite podcasts, 60 Songs That Explain the ’90’s which recently featured “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. Cobain has this legacy frozen in time at the peak of his fame since he died at 27. But what if he had lived? Courtney Love is on the podcast talking about how we have no idea what his ideology would be like if he were alive now considering some of the things he said and did back then. Would he have fallen from fame? Would he have made bad albums? Would he be relevant anymore? It’s incredible mesmerizing to still be able to go and see Iggy Pop, someone who’s been part of the cultural zeitgeist for decades and continues to be relevant with barely a misstep throughout such a varied career.  Like sands through the hourglass, Iggy Pop’s coolness prevails.
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