NXNE - Iggy and the Stooges

"We are the fucking remains of the fucking Stooges," said Iggy Pop during the band's Saturday night appearance, proving once again he's never been anything if not self-aware. The perverse irony of a band like the Stooges, born out the anti-establishment fervour of the late '60s, playing in a place as tacky and commercial as Yonge and Dundas Square seemed lost on the throngs who showed up to watch. So busy was the square that many in crowd had to watch the show through the zoom lenses of digital cameras. Sight lines aside, the band (original drummer Scott Asheton, Raw Power era-guitarist James Williamson along with Mike Watt on bass and saxophonist Steve Mackay) sounded astoundingly visceral and fresh, knocking out classic track after track, including a healthy dose of Funhouse and Raw Power tunes. The quintet even played rarity "No Sense of Crime" live for the first time ever. It was a shame, though, that for much of the crowd, this was the greatest show they never saw.