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An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
2012
Theatre
The show has suddenly become quite wonderful, and the galvanising factor is the terrific stage debut of Melanie C
Blood Brothers
Music
The British pop music industry may be eating itself but if Muse are the pick of what it can offer the world in 2010 then British music is in rude health indeed
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I was smitten by both Gilberts enormous luxuriant moustache and the intelligence and nuance of this highly entertaining play
I totally recommend Babbo to anyone who is looking for really good and traditional Italian food
Always been a fan but never seen them live. I was ecstatic to be part of this epic event. WOW!
London,
Evening Standard rating
Reader rating
Description: Legendary punk-rocker Iggy Pop headlines the festival with other acts across four stages including The Hives, Supergrass, Gogol Bordello, The Holloways, Plastic Little, Kate Nash, Reverend And The Makers, The Maccabees, Ipso Facto, Gossip, Soulwax, The Presets and more.
The Rock Iguana strikes: veteran hellraiser Iggy Pop leads the mayhem on Clapham Common for the Get Loaded in the Park festival
Clapham Common more regularly plays host to Ugg boot-wearing au pairs than bare-chested punk rockers. Get Loaded in The Park changed all that. Boasting a refreshingly ballsy line-up, which included none other than Iggy Pop and The Stooges, the festival brought punk attitude to a middle-class neighbourhood.
“Like The Clash and The Pogues having a fight in Eastern Europe” is how rotund comic Phill Jupitus describes Gogol Bordello, the multi-ethnic band of gipsy rockers who got the evening started.
Personally, I’d say it was closer to a Borat-fronted, testosterone-enhanced Scissor Sisters. Either way, though, it made for a winning combination and a rambunctuous live show.
Mustachioed frontman Eugene Hutz strummed a guitar, chugged red wine and thwacked a red bucket. Behind him, a geriatric accordionist in beret and black vest smiled delightedly — particularly when he was met by two Lycra-clad dancers.
Wonderlust King, taken from the group’s excellent Super Taranta! album, was a swashbuckling delight. Even better came Start Wearing Purple, which prompted the crowd to hold their purple garments aloft. Hutz, not taking his own advice, was bare-chested by this point, grappling with security guards who didn’t think jumping into the crowd was such a smart idea.
They had similar problems containing Iggy Pop. Bursting on to the stage to Loose wearing jeans that were anything but, Pop whipped the crowd into a frenzy.
Whether strutting around the stage, introducing his band (“We are the goddamn Stooges”) or belting out the classics, the Rock Iguana still oozed charisma. Next up came 1969, from the group’s eponymous debut released the same year. The snarling menace of I Wanna Be Your Dog, turned things up a notch, with Pop going down into the crowd to sing its chorus.
Later they came to him, as Pop encouraged a stage invasion. “Let ’em up,” he demanded during No Fun. Up they came, overpowering the sizeable security force to dance alongside their hero.
Pop, who is credited with having invented the stage-dive, resisted the temptation to try it here. In fairness, the chasm between the front row and stage would have been a struggle to Phillips Idowu, let alone a diminutive 61-year-old, so all was forgiven.
Particularly, as he went one better with a thunderous rendition of Search and Destroy, the standout track from The Stooges’ standout album Raw Power.
As this was very much Iggy Pop and The Stooges, there was no airing for Lust For Life or The Passenger — the two highlights from Pop’s solo career.
As the fireworks exploded above the stage, however, no one was complaining. This was dynamite stuff from a band who proved they’ve still got plenty punk in their trunk.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
