This was a proper throwback gig melding pioneering punk, art rock, new wave and all points in-between,  battered out by a scratch band pulled together specifically to celebrate the forty-fifth anniversary of Iggy Pop’s ‘Lust For Life’ album.

Tony Fox Sales, bassist on that landmark album, was due to front this tour, but had to pull out at short notice. However the band that eventually came together was steeped in myriad Iggy Pop collaborations and connections.

Most notably, Kevin Armstrong on guitar who worked with Pop on the ‘Blah! Blah! Blah!’ album and also brought a classy David Bowie/Tin Machine cv.

Drummer, Clem Burke is best known for his long-standing work with Blondie, but goes way back to the New York punk scene with Pop and others in the mid-70’s. He’s played with everyone in various guises (including briefly as Elvis Ramone in a line-up of the punk originals) and is one of my favourite drummers to watch.

Glen Matlock of Sex Pistols’ notoriety has written tracks for Iggy Pop and stepped up to this band on the defection of Tony Fox Sales.

On vocals, perhaps a surprise in the shape of broadcaster and Pet Shop Boys dancer, Katie Puckrik. The team was rounded out by the excellent Luis Correia on second guitar, who’s toured with Earl Slick and Florence Sabeva on keyboards, a classical pianist, composer, and touring member of Heaven 17.

The band is greeted enthusiastically by a sold-out Lexington and immediately the rhythm pairing of Matlock and Burke finds a groove on that signature ‘Lust For Life’ intro. Suddenly I have goose-pimples.

Then comes the chopping guitar lines, undercut with electric piano. And finally Puckrik delivers the vocals, maybe without the resonance of the original, but with plenty of verve and energy. At the risk of hyberbole, it’s hard to argue that this Bowie-penned track is anything other than iconic and the band do it full justice.

‘Sixteen’ finds the right slew of raw, edgy guitar crawling over the track, and it is also quickly apparent that Puckrik is gonna be a natural, ebullient front-woman.

‘Some Weird Sin’ features more brilliant guitar from Kevin Armstrong, ploughing a delicious tone, and complemented well by Glen Matlock who assumes an effortless demeanour between Puckrik and Correia on the tight stage.

There’s an early backing vocal work-out for the crowd on ‘The Passenger’ and the uplifting ‘Tonight’, another gilt-edged Bowie composition, follows. Clem Burke is hitting the tubs so hard on the intro that I’m almost wincing. This is the first track where Florence Sabeva’s keyboards really fly.

The band are not hanging about. There’s a bit of chat from Katie, but quickly we are in to the loose-limbed stomp of ‘Success’. It’s an enthusiastic version that connects with the audience and we can pass quickly over the raggedy backing vocals, comments about which  have no place in this review.

‘Turn Blue’ is probably the track where Puckrik’s vocal style was likely to be most challenged, but she carries it off well, reigning in some of the histrionics a tad and letting the band take some of the strain.

Kevin Armstrong is absolutely the musical director on stage. Everyone is taking their cues from him and his playing is powerful and yet understated. ‘Neighborhood Threat’ is a case in point, sharing lead duties with Correia.

The album’s completion is reached in double-quick time with the snap and roll of ‘Fall in Love With Me’, replete with those descending keyboard tones that are so evocative of the whole Bowie/Eno Berlin era.

Only the briefest of pauses for video band introductions. And then the rest of the show continues the festivity with a string of tracks from Pop’s back catalogue, together with gems from the band members’ own roster.

I have to pinch myself that I’m hearing ‘Sister Midnight’, ‘Funtime’ and ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’ played live in any shape or form. Let alone at a gig where cast-iron legitimacy is brought by a bunch of musicians who played, wrote or collaborated on the original recordings.

The highlights keep coming. ‘Nightclubbing’ is raucous and flat-out, and brings the crowd nicely to the boil. Blondie’s ‘Rip Her To Shreds’ is powerful and a pouting Puckrik is mesmeric. Tom Verlaine’s ‘Kingdom Come’ is spikey and charged; and much closer to the original than the cover that appeared on Bowie’s ‘Scary Monsters…’ album.

Glen Matlock acts like it’s all run-of-the-mill stuff, raising eyebrows, eye balling the punters, chatting with Luis Correia. Until he takes up the mic. Puckrik has gone off for a costume change and suddenly Matlock is all serious on his rendition of ‘Ambition’, a track he wrote for Pop’s ‘Soldier’ album and then a new one called ‘Head On A Stick’.

Katie is back for a helter-skelter run through of ‘Five Foot One’ and then Steve Norman from Spandau Ballet brings his sax on stage for a dose of audience participation on The Stooges’ ‘No Fun’.

It’s the last track of the main set. But the band are not away long, before Bowie’s ‘Be My Wife’ strikes a less frenetic opening to the encore. The final three tracks ramp up the party atmosphere with a thrash through ‘Wild One’ with added sax from Norman who is back on stage and then an electrifying ‘Pretty Vacant’ with vocals shared by Matlock, Puckrik and the packed-out Lexington.

This is the highpoint for me, but the band has a last-night-of-the-tour bout of mayhem up their sleeve in the shape of ‘Search and Destroy’. Frenetic stuff and the crowd lap it up.

This was a gig that exceeded my expectations. The show was not polished by any stretch of the imagination and maybe even a bit untidy at the climatic end. But as an instinctive demonstration of the celebratory and unifying power of dynamic rock ‘n’ roll, this night was right up there.

Review by Dave Atkinson

 

 

 

 

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Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.

Next session: Sunday 19 January

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 1 December 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 3 December 2024.

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)

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