Stooges Bring 'Raw Power' to ATP Festival

Jason Persse for Spinner

The Fountain of Youth is a real place, and to find it, one need only follow the directions written in the muscle folds of Iggy Pop's torso. Too bad he won't stand still long enough for anyone to copy the map. For more than four decades, Iggy has specialized in the kind of maniacally exuberant performance he gave Friday night at Kutsher's Country Club in Monticello, NY, where he and the Stooges stole night one of this year's All Tomorrow's Parties Festival.

The Stooges' set was part of ATP's Don't Look Back lineup, in which bands play through classic albums. The Detroit foursome gamely revisited 1973's 'Raw Power.' The collection marked a major turning point in Iggy's career and, more than any other record of its era, predicted the cruddy thrash of punk rock.

All these years later, 'Power' hasn't lost its wattage. The Stooges shifted the sequence slightly and opened Friday's set with the title track, originally the first song on side B. This was an inspired decision, as the album's musical and lyrical centerpiece seemed to shake the floor beneath the resort's Starlight Ballroom. Iggy emerged shirtless and supercharged, blonde locks flowing like Hulk Hogan in his heyday, and the band fell in with a bulldozer boogie.

The audience swayed, pogoed and sprayed beer in all directions. Even 'Gimme Danger,' the closest 'Raw Power' comes to a ballad, found a snake-dancing Iggy thrusting and collapsing. During 'Penetration,' he smashed his microphone stand, and midway through 'Death Trip,' he pushed over a speaker and nearly brought down the column of hanging ones positioned just above.

On 'Shake Appeal,' the 63-year-old front man graciously opened the gates of his kingdom.

"I want dancers," Iggy said. "I want spazzers. Get up on this stage! We're the f------ Stooges! This is a dance number and we need volunteers!"

He got about 75 or 100 takers, and for the song's duration, bassist Mike Watt, guitarist James Williamson and drummer Scott Asheton were lost in the crowd. There was no missing Iggy, though. He was front and center, showing fans 20, 30 and maybe even 40 years his junior what real rock 'n' roll looks like.

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