| Welcome to the LOUDEST DOT COM ON THE PLANET! |  |
|
|
 |
|
| Welcome to the LOUDEST DOT COM ON THE PLANET! | |
|
|
|
|
IGGY POP At Ottawa CityFest By Andrew Depedro, Ottawa Corespondent Saturday, October 7, 2023 @ 5:22 PM
With a career bordering on six decades and 20 solo albums alone to his credit, he's been dubbed as the Godfather Of Punk, the Architect Of Avant-Garde and the inspiration to a couple of generations of many hungry aspiring musicians ranging from Johnny Marr to Slash to Frank Meyer to pick up a guitar. He probably can also be touted/blamed for encouraging Randy Lahey from TRAILER PARK BOYS to go shirtless all year round for all we know.
Regardless, at this year's opening night at Ottawa's CityFest, a good couple of thousand finally got to call IGGY POP headliner for the first time in the festival's history. It was also IGGY POP's first Ottawa appearance in over five years as well. Plus, since Bluesfest had made its own history in opening its summer run with a big-name headliner such as Shania Twain for the first time, it seemed only fair that CityFest also at least experiment with the same concept. And while the wrong artist went topless, we also caught a break from having to hear "Man! I Feel Like A Woman" for the umpteenth time anywhere.
Opening with the deep cut "Five Foot One" from 1979's New Values as projections of mostly STOOGES album covers and photo portraits of his past touring years flashed in the background IGGY and his backing band - which included a horn section - were ready to rock. Wiry, erratic and occasionally self-deprecating but in full control of the show's ambience, the legendary Michigan-born and bred singer had covered a wide berth of his career with both his solo material past and present and a whole lot of STOOGES classics while on a fairly tight 90-minute schedule. Suffice to say that my entry-level IGGY faves such as "Cold Metal" and "Real Wild Child" wouldn't make the
Highlights of the performance were, by far, the vast number of the aforementioned STOOGES catalogue being played in full. With the bulk of the original lineup either being deceased or not on speaking terms with each other, one would wonder from IGGY's perspective why he'd include any of their numbers at all with the memories the experience had entailed. But even pushing 80, he still demonstrated that he was the type to forgive though never forget. Indeed, he'd intro'd one of their numbers at one point as he sat on the stage and reminded everyone that he "was in a band once...but they got on my nerves" before dedicating the dark rager "Sick Of You" in their honor. And there was also the inclusion of Ottawa in as many lyrics as he could fit in, with "Lose my heart on the burning sands...of fucking Ottawa!" in "I Wanna Be Your Dog" being the notable example. He probably does something similar at every city he's performed in though each time he performs the song, but you still have to admit that it gives a city known for its stodgy government bureaucracy a bit of brief street cred, for which he was relishing in. Finally, as a reminder that he'd hit a recent milestone with his latest album Every Loser being his 20th studio album overall, he'd included two of its most driving numbers on the setlist: The acerbic-sounding "Modern Day Rip Off" and the closing encore "Frenzy", its performance living up to its title even with IGGY covering up with a flashy studded leather jacket during its performance for a brief duration. Both songs had captured the essence of his wild 70's eraand the crowd reaction, though occasionally muted in some parts, was still adorning enough for IGGY to feel satisfied enough that he still had the spark and drive to appeal to both his core fanbase and new converts alike.
Truly a generous consummate performer known for giving the shirt off his back and then some.
Setlist:
| |||||
|
|
| Recent Reviews |
 |
|
final draft on the setlist that night. But with "TV Eye", "Raw Power" (the album itself is still considered the Holy Bible of every aspiring college band formed after 1973), "Gimme Danger", "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and "Search And Destroy" (featuring the infamous image of the iconic STREETWALKIN' CHEETAH appearing on the backdrop projection) being bonafide crowd pleasers, by comparison, there was a reason why "Cold Metal" and "Real Wild Child" were entry-level faves to IGGY's catalog to begin with.
