Iggy Pop Puts on a Rock Primer at Lollapalooza

By Julene McCoy in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 6, 2007 8:21PM

It’s difficult to choose only one performance that was my favorite from 2007 Lollapalooza. Polyphonic Spree's joyous performance captured my heart and made me remember what Lollapalooza and all music festivals are for — losing myself in the music. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs put on an energetic, tight set, and Daft Punk brought it all home with a phenomenal stage show that was never topped throughout the weekend.

The performance that was miles ahead of everyone else for me was Iggy and the Stooges. I came into the show with high expectations. He’s a legendary performer renowned for his live show — it’s impossible to not have any expectations. Those expectations were not only achieved, they were exceeded by far. Iggy ran out on stage to screams, mugged for the cameras, humped amps, ran out into the crowd, and never once stopped.

The mayhem factor grew even larger when he invited the crowd on stage much to the chagrin of the security. As hundreds of fans started climbing the barricade and storming the stage, my friend and I looked at each other with wide eyes; this could get out of control fast. Surprisingly, the stage exit of the fans was orderly, and Iggy continued the show just as possessed by the sound as before. During "T.V. Eye," Iggy kicked a cameraman while he was filming, and then later that same cameraman’s aide was slammed up against the stage scaffolding by a security guard. The set was always on the verge of mayhem, a little scary, a little sexual, a lot loud and very rock-n-roll.

Iggy’s energy never waned. He covered every inch of that stage making sure every member of the audience could partake in that energy. It was a rock-n-roll primer for every other performer on any stage this year at Lollapalooza, and I was happy to have been there for the schooling.

Photo of Iggy Pop by Olivia Leigh.