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Iggy Pop! Live in San Fran 1981 (2005)

Rating: 3 Stars (out of 4)

Lust for Life

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Iggy Pop! Live in San Fran 1981 on DVD.

It's impossible to tell precisely at which club Iggy Pop is playing in Iggy Pop! Live in San Fran 1981. Shot on 1981 video equipment, this 52-minute video fails to capture anything but the performers and the stage. The crowd or any distinguishing club interiors are sloughed off into the inky corners of the frame. Still, as far as the band is concerned, the video captures a remarkable amount of detail in the midst of a dark, chaotic club. Even through the focused blobs of green and purple lights, you can still see Pop's eyes and face as he puts on one hell of a show, long after his Stooges years, but just before his MTV years. He still manages to shock the audience, coming out on stage in a leather hat and coat with fishnets and garters underneath. Better yet, this DVD has impossibly good sound for a homemade job; it comes with both 2.0 and 5.1 audio mixes. I was able to crank up my favorite tunes through my Bose speakers with crunchy clarity and no distortion. Among the 12 songs are "TV Eye," "1969," "Bang Bang" and "Lust for Life." The set ends with a cut from Iggy's new album at the time, "Party," a catchy little number called "Pumpin' for Jill" that combines his earlier rough edge with a forward-looking radio sensibility. (It even includes a "la-la-la" chorus.) It ends the video with a strange bittersweet feel.

DVD Details: The new DVD, by Music Video Distributors, comes with song selection, two audio mixes and a trailer for last year's Iggy and the Stooges: Live in Detroit.

Starring: Iggy Pop, Carlos Alomar, Gary Valentine, Rob Duprey, Mike Page, Clem Burke
Directed by: Joe Rees
MPAA Rating: NR
Running Time: 52 minutes
Date: April 15, 2005