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Iggy Pop knows that the new Stooges album, Ready to Die, is unlikely to compete with Justin Timberlake and Taylor Swift at the handful of record stores that still exist. “I didn’t do this expecting to make money out of it,” he tells Rolling Stone. “It’s a lot of work, but I felt it was something that had to be done. This is my teenage dream, having a band that makes records and plays gigs. That’s still the glory of it, and I wanted to honor the institution and honor the group.”

Read more at Rolling Stone.

Iggy and the Stooges are expanding their tour into two more cities. On June 20th, the band will play the Meltdown Festival at Southbank Centre in London, which is being curated this year by Yoko Ono. Tickets will go on sale for Southbank Centre members at 10 a.m. local time on April 9th, while the general on sale will begin at 10 a.m. local time on April 11th. More information is available at SouthbankCentre.co.uk.

On June 22, Iggy and the Stooges will perform at Areál TJ Slezan in Frýdek-Místek, Czech Republic. Tickets can be purchased at Eventim.cz.

In 1973, when older fans first heard Iggy Pop claim he was “a street-walking cheetah with a heart full of napalm” during “Search and Destroy,” they probably thought he was little more than a rock’n’roll livewire with a striking way with words.

Forty years later, the way he continues to perform suggests there might have been some truth to the lyric. With mere blood pumping through his veins, how else could a man who is 66 this month spend a scorching rock show thrashing around a stage and regularly diving off it and still finish up prancing and skipping as though he had just been warming up?

Read more at The Sydney Morning Herald.

From Take 40: Last night’s show was one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen. It was magical. So much energy. Iggy was fantastic – from a distance he actually looked like he does in all that old footage of the Stooges circa 1973. James Williamson’s guitar sound still sounds as unique and incredible as ever. They are a force.

Read more at Take 40.

With a casual gesture he raised a sea of hands; with a campy sneer he drew rapturous cheers; with a twitchy contortion he pulled a packed Festival Hall to its feet.

Iggy Pop’s battered but buff physique shows every one of his 65 years. But your grandad never commanded a crowd like this Pop does. Anyone brave enough to open for The Stooges?

… James Williamson made enough guitar racket for any three mere mortals. Minutemen legend Mike Watt crouched over his bass, intent and focused. Toby Dammit was rolling thunder behind the drums.

Iggy, overshadowing his band, a comically hyperactive frontman, was a straight up menace for the entire show. Security was aghast when he invited a couple of dozen people to join him on stage to dance through Fun House.

Read more at The Age.

The reviews are in from SXSW! Here’s what some of the critics are saying:

It hardly seemed fair that Iggy and the Stooges should perform so early last night at South by Southwest in Austin. All they left behind was a smoldering pile of rubble for the other acts to pick through at the House of Vans showcase at Mohawk. … Iggy Pop is a human blowtorch, and the Stooges have to run at a high temperature just to keep pace. … The band thundered through more than an hour of songs split between new tunes and Stooges classics, starting with a ferocious version of “Raw Power” that was full of serrated guitar and Iggy’s inimitable sneer, which has inspired punk rockers for nearly 45 years. He’s still a dynamo onstage, dancing and jumping around with abandon while Williamson and bassist Mike Watt locked into one bludgeoning groove after another.
– Rolling Stone

The Ready To Die material, due April 30, was as molten and Cro-Magnon as the rest of the group’s catalog, though it had more in common with the more sophisticated arrangements and textures of Raw Power than it did with the Stooges’ reputation-making first two releases. …Exulting that “we made a fuckin’ record!,” Pop introduced the first single “Burn,” a frenetic rocker showcasing Steve Mackay’s saxophone, as a song “about scary shit like flaming assholes of life in the world and death and that shit.” “Gun” addressed one of today’s prevalent social issues, while “Beat That Guy” featured an extended solo by Williamson. “Sex and Money,” “Job,” “Dirty Deal,” “Double Ds” (about, yes, women’s breasts) and the album’s title track kept the throttle up full, while “The Departed,” a requiem for late Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton was a quiet and emotional change-up with guest Bob Hofner playing pedal steel. – Billboard

You can all go home now. The conference is over. The world’s greatest rock & roll band has played. No one else matters. Iggy Pop wanted to debut material from the 40-years-overdue follow-up to Raw Power at SXSW. He got his wish, even forcing bassist Mike Watt to come home from his own European tour. And with hardly a fuss, they’re off: “Raw Power,” bam, James Williamson riffing like a hyperthyroid Dave Davies, with Watt and drummer Toby Dammit deputized for brotherly rhythm section Scott and the late Ron Asheton. Funhouse saxman Steve Mackay, now a full Stooge, honks and drones à la Coltrane beside Williamson, Iggy charging hard at the mic, a Tasmanian devil uncaged and unleashed. – The Austin Chronicle

Photo credit: LifeWithoutAndy.com via Red Bull Surfing

A great insight as to “Iggy – the music lover.” It’s a sheer pleasure to listen to his take on music. Check it out at triple j.

Iggy and the Stooges’ Australian shows are here! Iggy took some time to chat:

Read more at ABC News 24.

Get ready to rock in Austria! Iggy and the Stooges will perform at the Arena Open Air in Vienna, Austria on August 9th! A ticket pre-sale begins this Friday, March 8th. More information is available at Arena.co.at.

Listen to the new Iggy and the Stooges song, “Burn,” from their upcoming album Ready To Die in stores April 30th.

Live Webcast Also Serving Japandroids, Middle Class Rut and Sky Ferreira in a Heaping Portion of Eclectic Music Live from the House of Vans at SXSW 2013

Cypress, CA (March 4, 2013) – Legends Iggy and the Stooges, Ghostface Killah, The Specials and rising stars Japandroids join Middle Class Rut and Sky Ferreira in a raucous riot of hip hop, ska, punk rock, indie and synth-pop that is the must-see SXSW Music Festival lineup and coming live from House of Vans at the Mohawk on March 13. Iggy and the Stooges will play some of the new material from their upcoming album, Ready To Die, scheduled to be released on April 30.

Won’t be in Austin for Vans’ SXSW Showcase presented by Fat Possum Records or the four full days of music at House of Vans from March 13-16? Be right there amongst the crowd at the Mohawk through the live webcast powered by Seagate at vans.com/sxsw.

Reflecting an Off the Wall mix of acts that define the original House of Vans in Brooklyn, NY, House of Vans at the Mohawk brings genre-defining artists and anticipated emerging bands for four packed days at one of Austin’s most beloved and eclectic music venues – the Mohawk at 912 Red River St. (at 10th Ave.) With daily afternoon and evening sessions, music fans will experience a range of acts from indie to metal to both throwback and underground hip hop from presenters Pitchfork, Anticon, Fat Possum Records, IAMSOUND/MFG, Paradigm, The Windish Agency, Ground Control Touring, A.V. Club & Flowerbooking and True Panther x Terrible Records. The full schedule follows below.

All day-time House of Vans at the Mohawk parties are FREE. For evening events, SXSW badge-holders get priority access, then wristband holders (tickets purchased in advance from the House of Vans at the Mohawk), then general admission guests. Shows will be webcast live at vans.com/sxsw, powered by Seagate or by downloading the Vans Live 2.0 app giving you access to a full menu of Vans events live on your mobile device.

House of Vans at the Mohawk is made possible in part by truth®, the nation’s largest youth smoking prevention campaign, and Seagate storage products, a canvas for today’s creatives.

For updates, continue to visit vans.com/sxsw.

House of Vans at the Mohawk
912 Red River Street (at 10th Ave) · March 13 – 16

Official Vans SXSW Showcase presented by Fat Possum Records – doors open at 6:30 pm

Outdoor Stage: Ghostface Killah, The Specials, Iggy and the Stooges, Japandroids, Middle Class Rut, Sky Ferreira

** RSVP does not guarantee admittance. Please arrive early. All acts are tentative and subject to change.

Iggy and the Stooges will play the Free Press Summer Festival in Houston, Texas, this June! The festival runs from June 1st to June 2nd at Eleanor Tinsley Park, and the daily artist schedule will be disclosed at a later date. Passes are on sale now at FPSF.com.