ON IGGY POP

"He who despairs over an event is a coward, but he who holds hope for the human condition is a fool." ALBERT CAMUS
some choice...


aloha
JOHN WASSERMAN was a Critic at Large for the SF Chronicle during the 1970s.he was Very Ecletic reviewing everything from opera to porn shows plus he was both funny and perceptive.so when he recommended a an upcoming show at The Village ( a North Beach club later to gain fame as the disco DANCE YOUR ASS OFF) i was so there. it was my first club outing in SF altho i later became a semi-regular at Bill Graham's WINTERLAND before they turned the site into ugly condos...
so the hook for the show was THE HOODOO RHYTHM DEVILS a local band Wasserman described as "the best band in San Francisco" WHOA the Jefferson Airplane,Grateful Dead,Moby Grape etc etc etc.until now the Devils had played mostly gay clubs as they were a mostly gay band but this was to be their breakout on the undercard of Iggy Pop.
so i went.

the first band was THE TUBES who had recently relocated from Arizona.BANG they put on a stage show which POPPED! and would later evolve into a virtual circus at Winter land,MONDO BONDAGE,WHITE PUNKS ON DOPE, DON'T TOUCH ME THERE and other anthems.
i was impressed and soon got their tapes.

THE DEVILS knocked my socks off.fast tight and FUN, all as advertised.
unfortunately AIDS (Reagan dare not mention its name) wiped out most of the band within 18 months, i got their only LP about ten feet from me now,it is still THAT GOOD.

ON IGGY POP
i was no fan of Iggy Pop, saw him on VH1 recently and was surprised that he is still alive.
IP came out in purple low briefs and knee high buccaneer boots, he sang a few songs to adoring fans.i was in the small balcony and had a birds eye view of the tumult below...
at one point IP stage dived into the crowd who promptly pulled his briefs down and began fellating him, both boys and girls pushed to have their turn...IP announced via his mic YOU CAN SUCK ALL YOU WANT BUT YOU CAN'T MAKE ME COME!

i was stunned.
i looked around and nobody seemed too surprised by any of this, i felt like such a rube! IP finally got back onstage, broke some glass then dived atop it to show his bloody chest to the crowd... he sang after getting his communal blowjob.WAS THIS "NORMAL" FOR SAN FRANCISCO??? OMFG!!!!

anyway this was my introduction to later having my ass groped by both boys and girls, being platonic friends with whores,gays, drunk spies,poets and serial killers yada yada yada, so now u know.
BTW
first time i went to Winterland i was standing in line and the guy ahead of me kept yelling BILL GRAHAM IS AN ASSH*LE! BILL GRAHAM IS AN ASSH*LE! so this swarthy wiry guy with wild black hair walks by, stops and knocks this dude out with one punch then continues walking inside. so i turn to the next guy in line and ask THAT WAS BILL GRAHAM? YUP.
hey rube...Bill Graham's bouncers loved to BEAT UP HELLS ANGLES TRYING TO GET IN FOR FREE.i met some,black beefy powerlifters mostly.

Iggy Pop tale,delivered.

namaste y'all
ssdd but it's SUNNY TODAY!
mega