From Iggy and Ziggy to Iggy’s Sturdust , Iggy Pop remind His Friend David Bowie.
More than 40 years ago, David Bowie penned the most eloquent possible mode to the debauched beauty of Iggy Pop with his song Jean Genie.
On Monday 25 .2.16 , Iggy got to repay the favor in the most reverent possible setting by performing that classic at this year’s Tibet House all-star concert at Carnegie Hall.
The annual Tibet extravaganza – now in its 26th, 28th or 30th year, depending on when you date its fuzzy origin – always has transcendence on its mind, an ideal vehicle for a Bowie salute. The connection between the late star and the cause runs deep. He performed at two shows in the past, and the event’s stalwart organizer, Philip Glass, has created symphonies based on Bowie’s Low and Heroes, part of which he performed at one such benefit several years ago.
Iggy, who appeared in a finely tailored suit, closed the show, first by offering the poems, I Talked To A Smart Guy and Mom and Dad are Gone. On each, his incantations were accompanied by Suso’s kora and the string quartet. Both readings dealt with the spiritual consequences of ambition. The latter also pondered legacy, extending the theme of Iggy’s forthcoming album with Josh Homme, Post-Pop Depression. Only in a setting as accepting as this could the star get away with moves this personal.
After delivering the more accessible Jean Genie in all it’s blues-rock bluster, the whole cast joined Iggy on a song he wrote with Bowie, Tonight. Sharon Jones inhabited the part taken by Tina Turner in Bowie’s recording of the piece. The songs’ lyrics deal with savoring life in the wake of a death, offering the perfect nod to a departed spirit that, on this night, seemed so present.
The concert series serves to benefit the cultural center Tibet House in New York. But the cause has both spiritual and political ambitions, the latter addressing the plight of the Tibetan people at the hands of the Chinese.
After delivering the more accessible Jean Genie in all it’s blues-rock bluster, the whole cast joined Iggy on a song he wrote with Bowie, Tonight. Sharon Jones inhabited the part taken by Tina Turner in Bowie’s recording of the piece. The songs’ lyrics deal with savoring life in the wake of a death, offering the perfect nod to a departed spirit that, on this night, seemed so present.