I’m kinda intrigued by this review of a late show at Unganos, the early show was stuff from Funhouse but this was completely different. Just wondering if anyone knows if the Stooges did this kind of thing on other occasions? Taken from Zygote October 1970:
“The group took to the stage again, this time to a diminished crowd. It was 2:35am, Unganos remains open until 3:00am. The musicians began to play a hard beating sound. It was supposed to be a jam, but it didn’t sound any different from the music they had been playing the entire evening. It was raucous deafening noise. Unrefined drum beats, nervewracking guitar riffs, and poorly timed sax leads. But it didn’t matter. The message was not to be found in the music, it was in the mind of Iggy Stooge.
He sat on the floor, more subdued than before. He was more pensive. That far-away-journeying-look-into-loneliness once more graced his face. He remained silent momentarily. Then, slowly the words began to spew from his subconscious. He began to feed the audience with a lyrical story. This time there were no intimidations or attacks. This time Iggy sat on the floor and began to improvise some emotions.
‘When I was younger, people never got a buzz from me’ he lamented. ‘No one ever got a buzz from me. But now, I feel like I’m getting a real buzz’. Iggy began to tell a sad story of his youth. The obvious lack of attention, inferiority complex, the feeling of being a nobody. He never got the buzz. He never gave anyone a buzz. He was a nobody.
‘I got this story that I really want to tell’ he continues. ‘I got this story that I really want to tell. When I was five or six I was really scared. I went away and I never came back. I never came back.’ The story begins to open up a bit more as Iggy beseeches a listening ear for attention. He tells us about his flight. But from whom? From people or from himself? Is he still fleeing from people or from himself? He takes us closer to the answer with some more free thoughts.
‘When I was younger I always wanted to get a buzz from you. I couldn’t get a buzz. I wanted to get a buzz from you. Now I feel a buzz through and through.’ He completed the story. He entwined his sadness with the dissonance of the music. More important, he disclosed the story and the reasons behind the mystique of Iggy Stooge. ‘I wanted to get a buzz from you, and now I feel a buzz through and through’ The music crescendoed and climaxed as Iggy slowly stood up and walked off stage. He looked at no-one as he walked back-stage.
I knew he would be exhaused but I had to ask him about the tale he had just told. I had to know if that was the truth. As I walked backstage, I tried to notice if anyone else understood what he said. It appeared that everyone had paid more attention to the music. The absence of Iggy's ranting and raving had cost him the curiosity and concentration of the viewers.
After a few minutes I proceeded over to him and asked about the lyrics. I asked him if they were true. He said 'Yeah, they're true, I always try to tell the truth when I sing.' Thinking back to some lyrics he admitted 'I feel free when I sing'.
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Subject: Unganos August 1970 
Sun Dec 20, 2009 7:09 pm
