There are only few music personalities as unique, iconic and influential as .
Denver s Ellie Calkins Opera House was one of only 20 stops worldwide that Iggy and Josh Homme scheduled in support of their March release, Post-Pop Depression. Nearly four decades into his career, it s the highest charting album of Iggy s entire career — partly because audiences (especially younger ones) have caught up to his music and acknowledged his sheer brilliance.
Opening with Lust For Life, Josh Homme led a band that played the hell out of that riff, getting every tier of Ellie Calkins on their feet. Unlike recent Stooges reunion records, the music on Post-Pop Depression uses the two 1977 Iggy-Bowie collaborations ( The Idiot and Lust For Life ) as a departure point. Iggy s shirt came off for the third (and first new) song, American Valhalla.
Every song, new and old sounded better with this band. They were led by Queens Of The Stone Age frontman, Josh Homme along with fellow QOTSA member Dean Fertita and Troy Van Leeuwen, Arctic Monkeys amazing drummer Matt Helders, and Chavez’s Matt Sweeney. Homme s guitar playing was inspired and grabbed your attention — no easy task when the lead singer is the guy who invented stage diving.
Still sounding contemporary decades later, songs like Sister Midnight , Funtime , Nightclubbing and especially Mass Production — with its buzzy, loopy electronics — were spellbinding. Long credited with creating punk while with The Stooges, Iggy s 1977 solo albums (with Bowie s assistance) show he helped birth post punk, too.
The show rocked hard when it wanted to. The Passenger got the place singing along, even dancing a little.
The power of Iggy s vocals on China Girl was still there at almost 69 years old, as he cathartically screamed in a beautiful bit of rasp: It s in the whhhiiiiitttttttte of my eeeeeeeeeyyyyyyzzzz. The set closed with that song s extended gorgeous instrumental coda featuring a twin guitar attack, icy synths and a crack rhythm section. The sound for the entire performance at Ellie Calkins was perfect.
The 70-minute set was quickly followed by an encore nearly as long that was heavy on Post-Pop Depression material, but the crowd s enthusiasm never wavered. All night, Iggy repeatedly noted his appreciation to the folks in the upper levels of the Opera House as well as those down front wherever (and whenever) he d just dived off the stage.
Even after Iggy s rant on Paraguay , the irresistible Success got everyone worked up. Again, Homme and the band far more than replicated the songs — they made them sound better. The performance ended with the newest one of Iggy s odd little hits , Gardenia.”
Long live Iggy Pop. At last, here comes success.
