concert review Stooges Tribute
Mathilde muPe - 11.12.2002 02:25
Veel punk bands zijn geinspireerd door de Stooges. In Tilburg was een van de 4 "semi reunie" concerten in Europa. Hoogste tijd om deze band 30 jaar na dato uit te checken.
If ever there was a band never judged on their political point of view and deeds, it was the Stooges. Why should one, the band was broken up and a legend itself which inspired many DIY musicians with a message to come.
It was back in 1967 when the band Iggy Pop and the Stooges was formed in Detroit and lived a short life as a little brother of MC5 up to 1971. Somewhere they split up and reformed in 1973 but at the end of that year they were broken up again, drugs had taken its toll on the band, which never played outside the US.
Peter Gnot: "I hardly paid notice to the fact that Scott Asheton was also drumming in the band when Iggy Pop performed in Amsterdam back in '77."
Peter Gnot had pointed us to a rare opportunity to see the former Asheton brothers of the Stooges, perform in a Stooges Tribute concert in Tilburg. It is the only concert in the Netherlands and we were in luck as there were only four concerts in total in Europe. They had previously done some gigs in the US and one at a summer festival in Belgium, but without drummer Scott.
Stooges Tribute, the name says it all. Scott Asheton (ex Stooges) on drums, Ron Asheton (ex Stooges) on guitar, Jay Mascis (ex Dinosaur Jr.) on guitar, Mike Watt (ex Black Flag, Minutemen, Firehosen) on bass and vocals. Before the show starts there was joking whether Iggy Pop might show up and participate. Dave Alexander the former bassist had to be excused, he died in 1975.
When the show had started after a song or two the music got more intense and as the artists were getting into their feelings, the whole thing turned into a wild concert. There was no age there, only timeless history. Ron and Scott played as if 1970 was yesterday and Mike Watt bass guitar annex singer, did it with so much intensity, that it could have been questioned whether Iggy Pop himself could perform his own old repertoire with the same nonchalant inspiration and drive. The entire show lasted 45 minutes, there was only one song as encore a ten minute long version of “1970”. The audience screamed for more, but there is a trade-off with concerts with this level of input. A performance of more then an hour at this pace is something even young musicians can only do with a sports-like training. To our knowledge, this was the first time that Ron Asheton toured outside the US, good reason for an interview. The house roadie at the door stopped me and told me I should have asked their record company a day ahead for interview permission. “What a lot of stardom bullshit!” says Mike Watt when I spotted him later in the concert hall next to the speaker tower. ‘60s dance music is blasting through the conversation. I shout for his blessing and start the recorder.
Is this your first time in Europe?
(Mike) No, I first played in Europe in 1982 with Black Flag, Minutemen.
That’s a famous band.
(Mike) Eh, I don’t know I just like to play.
How did you come up with regrouping the Stooges and a small tour through Europe?
(Mike) Well, I known Ron for a number of years. And I was real sick and almost dying and I couldn’t play bass. So when I got well again to learn I did Stooges songs. So I got Jay Mascis to do gigs with me and then we asked Ron to play with us and then Ron asked Scotty. And that’s how it happened.
Will there be an America tour?
(Mike) Yeah, we played in America and we played in Europe too. Tomorrow we are in London and it is great, it’s great. I grew up with this music I’m only 45.
Are you making your own repertoire with these musicians?
(Mike) Yeah, I have a new band and I got a new album in April. It’s organ bass and drums.
Same people?
(Mike) Different. LA people, I live in the harbour of Los Angelos. It’s really a blast to play with these guys.
So how is the band called?
(Mike) I’m recording right when I get home.
Does it have a name yet?
(Mike) The Secondmen!
The Secondmen?
(Mike) Like Minutemen, the Secondmen.
Meanwhile people had queued up to have a chat with Mike. Mascis also came into the crowd for a short peak. Maybe I just missed the golden moment to ask the Asheton brothers how it felt, 40 years later after all the problems the band had back then, to actually experienced how their music has lived its own live and grown into a mature world reputation most musicians can only dream about.
 http://www.hootpage.com/ Mike Watt’s home page.
http://www.geocities.com/~mcburke/ronasheton.html Home page of a Ron Asheton spotter.
http://www.desk.nl/mupe/photos/stooges for (even) more (blurred) photo’s
 E-Mail: mupe@desk.nl
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