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Iggy Pop and The Stooges played at The Warfield in San Francisco on April 19th, 2007 with Sistas in the Pit as openers. This was my first Iggy/Stooges show and I was very excited. I took this guy I dated at the time who loved the Stooges. We both happened to have matching red mohawks which later came in handy when we needed to locate each other. The audience was filled with the usual suspects; adults from their 20's to their 50's donning leather jackets and band shirts. These are my people. We drank some over priced concert whiskey and got up to the front pre-show...the floor was filling up fast.
When Iggy and the Stooges hit the stage the floor of people began moving in waves with fists in the air. This easily separated my friend and I but we were each more than happy to be sucked into the pit. After a few songs still shirtless Iggy started to crowd surf. I was pretty impressed by this considering he was about to turn 60. He flowed across the crowd like a seasoned pro continuing to sing and shimmy. There was a point where I stopped dancing and jumping just to take the moment in. Within moments I am handed a joint by a guy standing to my right. Living in the Bay Area for a while at that point I didn't even hesitate to take a drag.
I pass it back and it comes down again. Iggy is still walking through the audience and singing. I noticed he was quickly headed to my left and people are clearing a path while they tried to touch him. Just as he gets to where I'm at the joint is passed to me again. I took a drag and Iggy reached out his hand, clearly wanting a hit of the joint. I complied and handed it to him and pretty much froze. Just watching what was happening but also afraid I'd do something stupid and look un-cool. He took a hit and handed it back to me. Instead of passing it back to the other guy I took another. He then walked back to the stage still singing and people were still clearing his path.
After that I was pretty energized by the show, especially when he welcomed everyone on stage to dance and sing. The audience quickly acted upon his invitation and before I knew it more than enough people had rushed the stage. That was one of the coolest things I've seen at a show. The sight of dozens of people dancing and singing with the Stooges on stage. Fitting them back into already pressed forward crowd was a bit of a puzzle. I couldn't believe the amount of energy, passion and authenticity of character Iggy was showing. Almost 60 and still a bad ass. It was one of the most intimate and genuine live concerts I've ever been to.
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