A cloud of sadness fell over the Stooges and Stooges fans when bassist Ron Asheton, 60, was found dead in his home on January 6, 2009. As Iggy Pop told Bill Holdship of Detroit’s Metro Times, at the time of Ron’s death, the group had five confirmed engagements and they were wondering how to carry on. To cut a long story short, Iggy and guitarist James Williamson started talking and mended what many saw as a decades-long rift, and Williamson, who was vice president of technology standards at Sony when he took early retirement, is now back with the Stooges and the Sao Paolo gig was the first time the reconstituted Stooges played in front of an audience.
On the internet, the show also attracted a lot of interest when video clips of the tracks started showing up on YouTube but it’s hard to imagine and contain the palpable excitement listening to the tracks. Even with Ron gone (and Minuteman Mike Watt a very fine replacement), it must be quite a rush listening to the Raw Power tracks – for some fans, this must be a dream come true to see Williamson back on stage with Iggy.
The Stooges are still a very mean machine but somehow the show recalled the religiousity of James Brown’s call-and-response gospel soul. Maybe The Stooges’ punk is, in a way, a reaction to the sweet soul music of Detroit/Motown soul – stripped off the pretty cooings, this comes straight from the heart, no matter how ugly.
At the end you probably feel you are drenched in Iggy’s spit and sweat, but getting back onstage seemed quite a long haul, as Iggy said: “I think Scott [Asheton] said at the services… he mentioned how weird it would be, for instance, to start I Wanna Be Your Dog which has a very particular start where the guitar player and drummer start it alone without the bass and they have to look at each other to do that. So for Scott to look over and it wouldn’t be [Ron]… He used that illustration of how he was feeling, you know?.. I know I’ve had a whole roller coaster of reactions and emotions. But the fellas had already done about 14 or 15 rehearsals by the time I got there [for a group rehearsal]. James and Steve had also done four or five on their own. So, I imagine Scott went through more emotions before I got there.”
Long live Iggy And The Stooges… and thanks to Lincoln Park Mark for sharing the tracks.
Scott Asheton R.I.P. 1949-2014
Scott Asheton, drummer for legendary punk-rock band the Stooges, died March 15, 2014 (Saturday evening) at age 64. No cause of death has yet been announced. Asheton’s death was confirmed by Stooges frontman Iggy Pop on Sunday afternoon via a statement on his Facebook page. “My dear friend Scott Asheton passed away last night,” Pop said. “Scott was a great artist, I have never heard anyone play the drums with more meaning than Scott Asheton. He was like my brother. He and Ron have left a huge legacy to the world. The Asheton’s have always been and continue to be a second family to me. My thoughts are with his sister Kathy, his wife Liz and his daughter Leanna, who was the light of his life.”
Asheton co-founded the Stooges in 1967 along with Pop, bassist Dave Alexander, and his brother, guitarist Ron Asheton, who died in 2009. After the Hellfest Festival show of June 17, 2011, in France, Scott suffered a severe stroke that caused his temporary retirement from live duty and was replaced by Larry Mullins (aka Toby Dammit) who had already played in Iggy Pop’s band in the ’90s. – Rolling Stone, wikipedia
Recorded live at Brazil’s Planeta Terra Festival, Sao Paolo, November 7, 2009
Good to very good soundboard.
On Saturday, original Stooges guitarist James Williamson performed with Iggy Pop and Co. for the first time in over 35 years, effectively reuniting the lineup that recorded the band’s 1973 benchmark Raw Power for a high energy 18-song set at Sao Paolo, Brazil’s Planeta Terra Festival.
Personnel:
Scott Asheton (drums)
Steve MacKay (saxophone)
Mike Watt (bass)
Iggy Pop (vocals)
James Williamson (guitar)
Tracklist:
01. Raw Power (Pop/Williamson) 4.28
02. Kill City (Lincoln Park Mark) (Pop/Williamson) 2.30
03. Search And Destroy (Pop/Williamson) 4.24
04. Gimme Danger (Pop/Williamson) 4.03
05. Cock In My Pocket (Pop/Williamson) 3.08
06. Shake Appeal (Pop/Williamson) 3.15
07. Sax Solo (MacKay) 2.45
08. Loose (Evil Dr Louie) (Pop/R.Asheton/Alexander/S.Asheton/MacKay) 3.31
09. 1970 (Pop/R.Asheton/Alexander/S.Asheton/MacKay) 5.00
10. Funhouse (Pop/R.Asheton/Alexander/S.Asheton/MacKay) 7.12
11. Night Theme (Pop/Williamson) 1.39
12. Skull Ring (R.Asheton/S.Asheton/Pop) 3.32
13. Johanna (Paul Cummings Mix) (Pop/Williamson) 3.00
14. I Gotta Right (Pop/Williamson) 3.32
15. I Wanna Be Your Dog (Alexander/R.Asheton/S.Asheton/Pop) 4.51
16. Five Foot One (Pop) 5.09
17. The Passenger (Pop/Gardiner) 5.15
18. Death Trip (Pop/Williamson) 4.47
19. Lust For Life (Pop/Bowie) 4.05
20. Interview 3.47
*
**
Stars of Progressive Rock, Classic Rock, Punk Rock, and Country gather together to pay tribute to one of the most successful and influential bands of all-time, The Who!
ManyFantasticColors 