The Stooges: Day of Disaster

Riviera Theatre | 29 August 2010

by Lindsey Bakker

All the signs were there that it was not going to be a good night for a show. The 91 degree summer day didn’t help things. But the car was broken into earlier in the day, and we couldn’t leave a car without a passenger side window on the street in Chicago Therefore, we had to run out to the suburbs to secure the car into my parents’ garage. That took away our dinner time and made us late for the show. Then our bus blew right past the stop without even looking at us. The night was not starting out well.

A few days earlier, the concert changed venues from the Aragon to the Riviera. The two venues are a block from each other, so that didn’t change logistics for transportation or anything. All previously bought tickets were being honored, so we didn’t have to exchange tickets. The capacity for the Aragon is approximately 4500, and the Riviera hold around 2500 people. Maybe they counted using really tiny people?. My guess is ticket sales had been sluggish. Selling out a smaller venue is better than booking a larger one and not using it to capacity.

The line for will-call was still out the door when we arrived. We got into the doors with no problem, even though I almost shoved some people that were standing in the middle of the hallway and drinking their beers. Upon entering, we hit a wall of people.. Security was no longer allowing people down into the main floor area. I swear they must have been trying to squeeze the capacity of the Aragon into the much smaller Riviera. There were open spots at the back of each of the tiers, but there was no place to get a good view of anything but the back of someone else’s head. [For those of you who have not been to the Riv and have no idea what I’m talking about. The floor is set up into three tiers, each higher than the last. It’s been ideal for every other show that I’ve been to at this venue; I love this venue. Maybe not so much when it’s packed and I’m running late, but it’s usually fairly easy to find a place to stand to get a good view.]

The Stooges started no more than 5 minutes after we arrived at the venue. We were on the top tier, behind a bunch of tall people. The guy behind me had a huge gut and kept bumping into me and I tend to panic just a bit if I’m squished in and can’t find an escape route. I wanted out of there. Plus, neither of us could see, and I thought we could do better.

We attempted to head to the balcony, thinking, “there is no bad seat in the balcony.” Just like when we came in, we got up to the balcony fine but hit a major traffic jam once we got into the actual space. The front part of the balcony was reserved seating, so even though there were plenty of seats, we couldn’t sit there. We moved down the aisle slowly, looking for some halfway decent place to see and getting stalled by people who were standing in the aisle watching the show. I knew security would move us along if we tried this, so we pressed on towards the end of the balcony. Still nothing. I paused for a second to look around and evaluate my options. This was also my first chance to even glimpse Iggy, since for the first 20 minutes I hadn’t been able to see a thing. The guy sitting behind us in the seats stands up and yells at us to move because he couldn’t fucking see. If I had been thinking quicker, I would have asked him why he was stupid enough to be sitting down at a show with the Godfathers of Punk. Instead, we vacated the balcony.

We tried standing at the very back on some raised platform thing, but security came fairly quickly and put and end to that. Back to square one. If I craned my neck just so I could make out the guitar player and the saxophone player. Sometimes Iggy bobbed into view, but in front of me was that one person. The girl who always managed to move her head just enough to block my view

To my right was the guy in the long-sleeve flannel shirt. Seriously? I had soaked through my shirt in a minute if I were wearing long sleeves (and a fucking flannel at that) I may have passed out. He always seemed to shift his weight in front of me at that crucial moment. I wormed my way in front of him and I could see clearly. Finally. About 45 minutes into the show.

I have to add another side note: concerts that are general admission truly are first come, first serve. If you’re 6 feet tall and it’s your favorite band and you want to be up front by all means head on up. But if you’re standing in the back, and it won’t impact how you see the show maybe you should consider letting the tiny girl next to you stand in front of you. I’m sure she’d appreciate it.

There were a lot of things wrong with this show. Apart from our late arrival, which I always hate, it was far too hot in there, and they were trying to cram far too many people in. The tickets were on the high price side for the Riv. The crowd was kind of lame, and didn’t move around much during the show, though perhaps it was because it was just too damned hot.

Lastly, the set was too short. The band only played an hour and fifteen.

I mention all of the negatives first for one reason: This show was still very much worth seeing. Once I actually could see what was going on, I was glad I had stayed on not bailed like I wanted. Iggy is pretty fucking cool himself. He’s old, but commands attention from the crowd. He’s skinny as a rail, but one solid muscle. All I could do is wonder how his pants kept from falling down. He doesn’t move around a lot, but he makes every move count. He spent a lot of time in the crowd or interacting with the crowd. The music was excellent, and the sound was good. It wasn’t the Raw Power and energy that I was expecting, but I enjoyed every minute. I was really worried, because I didn’t know any Stooges songs at all before the show.

The band was a hodgepodge, and included only one member from the original Stooges lineup: the drummer. He was funny to watch, but only because he exuded less energy than any other drummer I’d ever seen. It was like watching a robot drum. Mike Watt, former bass player for The Minutemen, joined the band on stage. He walked out with crutches, but looked thrilled to be playing throughout the set.

Don’t skip The Stooges, or Iggy Pop (whether he comes with the band or not) the next time he comes around. It’s something you need to see at least once. I had a horrible time overall but I can’t wait for the next show. Just make sure you get there early, snag a spot where you’ll be able to see, and guard it with your life.