Customer Reviews

Iggy and the Stooges - Live in Detroit

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Reunions suck. Always. They are usually for nostalgia only. Fun, but not essential. This is the exception. Iggy is loud, wild, aggressive, and the Ashetons (along with Mike Watt) groove like it's 1969 all over again. This performance is not just a novel reunion, it is top notch. It's no coincidence this show was rated as one of the best concerts of 2003. I've read the complaints about how this dvd was filmed. Well, I suppose if you like fast edits, effects, and an abundance of crowd shots, this video is not for you. It does not look like mtv. At the same time, the quality of the footage is high. The cameras roll, the band plays, and you get to see how it actually went down. Generous bonus footage as well.

What hit me from the opening song, "Loose", was the killer tone from Ron Asheton's guitar; talk about a trip in the "way back" machine. It's 1969 all over again. If the fuzz-wah guitar from "Funhouse" still gives you goosebumps, I guarantee this dvd will not disappoint.
We're talkin' flat out in your face Marshall stacks. What follows is a true Stooges fan dream come true. Again, the sound throughout the performance is excellent. The mix between the bass, drums, guitar & Iggy's voice is perfect. Oh, and let's not forget Mr. Pop. Iggy is peerless when it comes to live performances, and he proves himself again on this dvd. The camera work gives the viewer a real sense of what being at this concert in person must have been like. This dvd is not plagued with the constant camera angle changes every two seconds like on many concert performances. We get a good look at all the performers throughout the show; especially Iggy & Ron Asheton during his guitar solos. (By the way....I don't get the reviews slamming the camera work here? I quess the fact I have all the original Stooges albums on vinyl & don't watch MTV must have something to do with it). Also included is some great bonus material including performance by the band in a small New York record store. While the sound on the record store show is only fair, it's Iggy live! Come on, how many dvds are out there capturing what this man is all about! Anyone who is reading this must be a Iggy & The Stooges fan and debating the purchase of this dvd. Add this to your cart & buy it ASAP! Do not shy away from this one iota. You will not regret this purchase.

Have you ever sat and watched something that was so unbelievable you just sat there with your mouth agape, with tears (of joy, not sadness) running down your face?!?

That's what this DVD - and this performance - did to me. I was literally dumbfounded looking at the screen - I could not believe what I was seeing was really happening. I think my jaw still has a scar from it smacking the floor in astonishment.

It's almost like as if The Stooges had never left. Iggy is amazing (he has no right to be in that good a shape at his age) and the band rips through all the timeless Stooges classics with piledriver-like efficiency. The hometown Dee-troit crowd seems to know how momentous the occasion is - their reception is nothing short of riotous. (And half the crowd clambers up on stage at one juncture.)

Like an incredulous L.A. Weekly reviewer said after reviewing their first Coachella reunion gig - "The Stooges! The f---in' Stooges!!!"

For those of us here in the Murder City who are still kicking themselves hard for missing this show last summer, this DVD was supposed to be some sort of salve for our wounds, but instead rubs more salt in them. Let's get this out of the way up front - Iggy, Ron, and Rock Action (collectively that would be the Stooges - with ex-Minuteman Mike Watt on bass filling in for a very dead Dave Alexander) can still dole out quite the sonic smack across the eardrums. Even at the age of 50-something, these guys, and in particular Iggy, deliver every parent's worst nightmare, the former James Osterberg stripped to the waist and sometimes beyond, finally aging perhaps a bit, but due to some strange combination of genetics and who knows what, cut up like a bodybuilder. The set list draws almost entirely from the first two albums, the Asheton brothers apparently refusing to play anything from "Raw Power," the album on which James Williamson handled the lead chores. Just as well - "Funhouse" is their magnum opus anyway.

As for the camera work and sound? Lights out - literally. Most if not all of this was shot with what appears to be hand-held video cameras from various locations in the pavilion at DTE, several shots obscured by the backs of peoples' heads. The center of the stage is well lit, but whenever Iggy moves stage right or left, he disappears save for brief glimpses whenever a flash fires. One of the bonus features is a NYC in-store appearance by Iggy and the Ashetons, shot from an extreme angle to the left of the stage, Rock Action all but obscured by the others. Another bonus feature is sing-along versions of several Stooges songs, i.e. clips from the show itself with the lyrics running along the bottom of the screen.

In the end, though, it's the exuberant bash the Stooges threw that warm summer night which makes this one worth the scratch, and the sight of about 100 part-time punks - some of whom look like they've drank water that's flowed past a chemical plant - bum rushing the stage (at the insistence of Iggy) during "No Fun" is enough to warm the cockles of anyone's heart. Your results may vary...

I've read a few reviews of this DVD that complain about the lighting. Iggy does wind up in the shadows from time to time during this performance. Personally, I thought it only added to the excitement. I think this DVD is an essential for any Iggy fan if only for the audio. If your a Iggy Pop fan like me, you probubly have some of those "other" Iggy CDs or vinyls in your collection (you know, inspired performances but bootleg quality sound). The audio portion of this DVD is a suitible replacement!

This 2003 concert footage represents what many thought would never happen, a Stooges reunion in Detroit. Mike Watt is filling in on bass, but with the lineup 75% complete, it's a reunion. The concert features all the great songs off the first couple albums: "Loose", "1969", "No Fun", "I Wanna be your Dog" and more. The concert is high-energy, but all that energy is really coming from Iggy, the human dynamo. It is great to see Steve Mackay step into the group with the saxophone he used on the Fun House sessions and see Ron Asheton play those well-known riffs, but the fact remains the concert is so great because it is an Iggy Pop concert and everyone else hangs back out of the arc of his explosive energy. Having claimed that space, Iggy fills it with a tumultuous mob taken from the audience which takes the even to the edge of anarchy. Among the bonus features is a Mike Watt audio journal about being awed and alive on that staged and a great collection of Creem Magazine art and photos related to The Stooges. Another excellent bonus is a NYC in-store (without Watt) where a very congenial Iggy deconstructs many of the classic songs and how they were inspired and made.

I was at this show in Detroit, in the 10th row. It was amazing simply amazing. I've been going to rock shows for over 15 years and this is show is easily in my Top 3. THANK YOU IGGY!!

This was definitely THE concert performance of 2003. I was at the show, and although Iggy did not allow the use of a spotlight, preferring to feature the entire band - The Stooges - you can see what we all saw at the show: Iggy singing, dancing and playing in the shadows, the Ashetons pounding out the Stooges classics and Mike Watt loving the opportunity to come along for the party. This was the best Detroit rock and roll party of the summer. It was hotter than hell and muggier than the Louisiana bayou, leaving the band and crowd drenched in collective sweat. The video you see on the DVD is the video shot by the in-house cameras for the big screen. They aren't perfect, but it's the only recording there is and I'm thrilled to have a copy. The audio is not perfect either, but great compared to ANY Stooges live material I've heard in the past.
If you were there, you'll want this for posterity, if you weren't there, you'll need this to experience what you missed...The Best damned rock & roll delivered in MANY years.

Rock on Stooges...please keep your word and release a new album this next year!

I was at this show, and the DVD put me right back there on the lawn. On the lawn being the key point. The camera must have been only a few yards away. There was nothing fancy about this show. No spotlight. Barely any lights--except when the house lights were called for. Iggy spent half the night in the shadows and amongst the folks.

The one big thing missing from this DVD is getting more footage of Iggy's one-of-a-kind dancing. I was also hoping to catch a glimpse of Sonic Youth and the Von Bondies (although you do see Marci Bolan at the end of the stage clearing), or some other back-stage antics--but then again, this is Iggy And The Stooges Live In Detroit.

This DVD is more than a captured live performance. This is a frozen moment in time. Originally scheduled on the day of "The Blackout of 2003," this performance reminds me of those very strange days. Essential for anyone that was there--interesting for those who weren't.

:: ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS I'VE EVER BEEN TO! ::

Well... I was there, were you???
As we rolled into Michigan, we were dismayed to see the trouble brewing and finally heard about the power outtage on the radio.

So we checked out the DTE anyway, to learn that the show was rescheduled two weeks later... so once more we trekked down to Clarkston MI, ready for James, Ron, Scott & Mike (btw - a 3 hour drive from SW Ontario)

ANYWAY, WHAT A SHOW IT WAS. IF YOU WERE THERE YOU NEED TO SEE THIS DVD! The place was ecstatic. Iggy told us to join him on stage. People were dancing on their chairs.. it was beautiful. This DVD captures it all. Awesome quality and sound.

Awesome commentary by Mike Watt on the DVD, some Creem bonus video snippets and a cool in store performance where Scott is banging on a bucket and other oddities for drums.

BUY THIS THING NOW!!!! Creem has done an awesome job.... too bad the Von Bondies and Sonic Youth aren't on the disc as well
:(

Rock on,
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