It was very weird to drive into Atlantic City, NJ (a mini east coast Las Vegas) on Friday and see a giant billboard advertising an Iggy & The Stooges performance that evening at the House Of Blues. However, it was the real deal and The Stooges nearly decimated the club and the city!
The Stooges played alone, for about 1.5 hours, with a killer set list that included Raw Power in it's entirety plus four cuts from Kill City and a few from the first two LP's as well as Open Up And Bleed and the single I Got A Right. (Click here for full setlist) Iggy dove into the crowd several times including a backwards free fall- so much for no more stage diving. They were extremely loud but played to a woefully empty hall that was about half full at best and I’d guesstimate around 1,250 people were in attendance. That’s the public’s loss because The Stooges were brilliant- James Williamson can still slay with his incredible guitar work and Iggy Pop sounded so great singing Gimme Danger that I’m still getting chills.
The Stooges played alone, for about 1.5 hours, with a killer set list that included Raw Power in it's entirety plus four cuts from Kill City and a few from the first two LP's as well as Open Up And Bleed and the single I Got A Right. (Click here for full setlist) Iggy dove into the crowd several times including a backwards free fall- so much for no more stage diving. They were extremely loud but played to a woefully empty hall that was about half full at best and I’d guesstimate around 1,250 people were in attendance. That’s the public’s loss because The Stooges were brilliant- James Williamson can still slay with his incredible guitar work and Iggy Pop sounded so great singing Gimme Danger that I’m still getting chills.
The lighting was the sole disappointment as it remained virtually static at a mid level for the entire performance with Iggy, many times, out on a virtually unlit mini catwalk. That's a shame because the House of Blues has some incredible lighting in the building. Some might complain about the omission of certain songs especially 1969, Down On The Street and Loose but The Stooges have done all those songs on the last few tours. After the show Iggy was very cordial with a huge grin on his face and kind enough to sign a couple artifacts including my 1970: Complete Fun House Sessions Boxset.
The venue allowed photographers (just two of us) a three song limit in the photo pit but then no more cameras out anywhere in the venue or, as I was told by a staff member, they would "confiscate and destroy your gear"! WTF!? Three songs doesn't give you a lot of time and I usually like to go to an upper area to shoot from different angles for a couple songs but you could only shoot from the pit which was split in half by the catwalk. However, the staff was kind enough to give me an “entertainment” wristband which gave me full access including free food/drink/free parking in the load-in area, etc.
While the concert shots are far from my best (due to reasons above) I definitely did great outside in Atlantic City taking one of my all time favorite architectural shots (see above). It was a great day that I’ll never forget and well worth the effort of seven plus hours of driving. Easily the most fun I’ve had since my travels with Faust last Fall.
Stooges/House Of Blues photos here> http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregcphotography/sets/72157624704712875/ (click slideshow option)
Atlantic City photos> http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregcphotography/sets/72157624829038540/
Published on BrooklynVegan> http://tinyurl.com/stooges-on-bv
Atlantic City photos> http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregcphotography/sets/72157624829038540/
Published on BrooklynVegan> http://tinyurl.com/stooges-on-bv
Videos (you can see me prowling the photo pit ;) )>
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