Michael Osadciw
Screenwriter
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- Jun 24, 2003
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- Michael Osadciw
IGGY AND THE STOOGES
LIVE IN DETROIT
Studio: Creem
Distributor: Music Video Distributors/Video Service Corp.
Concert Year: 2003
Rating: Not Rated
Show Length: 100 minutes
Genre: Live Rock Performance
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audio Options:[*] English DTS 5.1 Surround[*] English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround[*] English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Subtitles: none
Closed Captioned: Yes
Region: 0
SLP: CDN $19.98
Release Date: NOW
Concert Rating: :star: :star: 1/2 / :star: :star: :star: :star: :star:
Starring: Iggy Pop (Vocals), Ron Ashton (guitar), Scott Ashton (Drums), Steve Mackay (saxophone), Mike Watt (bass), Stage Mob (Iggy’s Crazy Fans)
It’s Detroit in 2003. Never in a million years did anyone expect to see one of the earliest influential bands in punk rock return to their home state for a live concert event. Local music promoters DTE planned an event that will be remembered by every punk rocker in attendance: Iggy and The Stooges: Live in Detroit!
It’s been 30 years since the band last performed there and the performance was long overdue. After touring countless cities over the years and without a record out for over ten years, 2003 became the year for those wishing to see Iggy Pop live. Iggy Pop helped father the punk movement that ultimately led to the hard rock and heavy metal we enjoy today. Yet, so many bands have come and gone and Iggy Pop still carries on with his energy, charisma, and enthusiasm for a big performance.
The band released their first album in 1969 self-titled The Stooges and were among many other punk bands of the day. Their music proved to be influential to many over the years and has songs covered by artists such as Rage Against The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Go-Gos, Everclear, Monster Magnet, and Guns and Roses. Their music has also appeared in countless movies, commercials, video game ads, etc. Their most recent album Skull Ring features collaborations with artists of Greenday and Sum 41. It was this album that prompted the 2003 Iggy and the Stooges reunion tour.
The concert was set for August 14, 2003 and for many that day couldn’t have come soon enough. Opening for Iggy was Sonic Youth and the Von Bondies. The day ended up being heartbreaking for those attending. The concert was cancelled due to the massive power outage that blanketed most of the northeastern United States and Southern Ontario. The concert was rescheduled for two weeks later. That didn’t stop Iggy and his fans from having fun. Those who attended the concert believed the concert to be a blast. This concert DVD shows just how crazy it was having Iggy at the helms and chanting his countless “Whooos!”, ”Yeahs!”, “Alrights!”, and a four-letter F word that you’d think Iggy was being paid a million dollars each time it was shouted (which I was really surprised at considering the lyrics of his songs are clean).
Iggy is a complete maniac on stage with never-ending energy. His veins pop out of his chest and his sweat is oozing all over the crowd. His notorious eccentric dancing surely brought some laughs from the audience, but who cares! Iggy even invited some of the audience on stage to dance with him – while seeming to be a great idea at the moment; it turned into a mob that was difficult to clear.
The show was very simple, actually. There was nothing special about it at all for visuals or special effects. Lighting was simple with some reds and blues, and there are times when Iggy calls for the lights to be completely off or for all of the house lights to come on. The energy from Iggy contrasted form the rest of the group. Watt could never looks stiffer playing on stage and at least Ron was trying to look like he was having fun. I think Iggy was being to unpredictable to the rest of the band members who clearly didn’t seem to know what he was going to do next. En guard! The fans didn’t seem to notice, and clearly everyone was having fun here celebrating the homecoming of the local punk legends.
This disc comes in a keep case and has notes on the inside from the editor of Creem Magazine and band member Mike Watt. The songs in this lineup are: Loose, Down in the Street, 1969, I Wanna Be Your Dog, TV Eye, Dirt, Real Cool Time, No Fun, 1970, Funhouse, Skull Ring, Not Right, Little Doll, I Wanna Be Your Dog (reprise).. Actually, I Wanna Be Your Dog was played twice because Iggy loved it so much he shouted for it to be played again.
VIDEO QUALITY :star: :star: / :star: :star: :star: :star: :star:
For a concert less than a year old, this is one of the worst DVDs I’ve seen for a live performance for a band that shook rock and roll history. I was very disappointed to see the video quality of VHS resolution. The disc is riddled with chroma noise from the source. As expected, its most apparent in darker scenes when there is high amounts of red or blue stage lighting. The lighting is really messed up during this concert because of Iggy’s unpredictability on stage. Once he calls for all of the lights to be turned off so we are left in darkness, or I should say a lighter form of grey…black levels aren’t very deep for the most part. Even when Iggy calls for all of the house lights to be turned on the source never presents a pleasant picture especially when the whites are blooming off of the scale. Resolution is very limited and all seems to be softer than the norm. My guess is that whoever recorded this concert didn’t think to get cameras better than consumer grade compact VHS or the copy used for this disc was replicated the same way. The original source also seems to have a lot of false edges. Disappointing.
AUDIO QUALITY :star: :star: / :star: :star: :star: :star: :star:
There are three audio options on this disc. Most people will likely take advantage of the 5.1 surround soundtracks over 2.0 stereo that sounds more confined between the front two speakers. The 5.1 versions, in either Dolby Digital or DTS sound a little more spacious because of the sound coming from the rear channels. This isn’t a quality 5.1 presentation, it really is just the same 2.0 sound that appears to have gone through some ambience processor similar to a surround soundfield setting on an A/V receiver or pre-amp. There is a little bit of directional surround but that’s more from one channel sounding slightly delayed over the other. There is very little rear center imaging. The volume of the soundtrack is at a single level all of the way through rather than having a wide dynamic range like on some concerts such as the Nine Inch Nails: All That Could Have Been discs. Iggy and the Stooges: Live In Detroit is restrained sounding with some unintentional distortion and poorly mixed tracks. Iggy’s voice is dominant over the instruments giving it an unbalanced approach to concert soundtracks. LFE is non-existant, and the differences between DTS and Dolby Digital is negligible, with the Dolby Digital soundtrack being about 1dB louder in volume and bass.
SPECIAL FEATURES :star: :star: :star: 1/2 / :star: :star: :star: :star: :star:
At least the bonus material on this DVD is worthwhile – there is enough Stooges material on here to make a Stooge fan happy. The first feature is the legendary NYC in-store appearance (50.12) when promoting the then-new album Skull Ring in 2003. Using a microphone, a little amp on the guitar, and some boxes and bins to bang on, the boys (without Watt) play their songs in a stripped down fashion.
Next is a sing along with Iggy feature with lyrics at the bottom of the screen. You can sing to these live versions of 1969, No Fun, Not Right, and Wanna Be Your Dog. Try to keep up with Iggy’s unpredictability.
A Mike Watt Journal (7.56) spoken by the man himself, talks about the tour over stills on screen. Also included are pictures from the Creem archives (3.24). They are magazine pictures taken over the years and are shown to the studio version of the song 1969. Also look at the previews from the MVD Gallery of other punk DVDs available from the studio.
THOUGHTS…
Love them or hate them, punk rock legends The Stooges have spurred a hard rock industry of rebellion and a lot of fun concerts. While not the best concert DVD in terms of quality, fans of Iggy Pop and attendees of the concert will without doubt like this disc to bring back the memory of loud music, rock and roll, and a hell of a great time.
Michael Osadciw
04.08.20
