Illustration by Jillian Tamaki

Here are three things that dawned on me while watching Iggy and the Stooges perform at Massey Hall in Toronto last night.

1. Men Love Iggy

They want to touch Iggy. They want to dance with him. And they want to literally choke him. I’ve never been to a gig where there’s been so much male adoration/aggression pointed at a singer, and such a desire to fondle his sweaty, 61-year-old chest.

2. Iggy has all the personality

The other two original Stooges, brothers Ron Asheton (guitar and bass) and Scott Asheton (drums), are laughably flat performers. They play like robots; as Iggy calls out tunes, they just grind them out. The only exception is bassist Mike Watt (ex-Minutemen), who does the occasional kick and exits the stage like he’s boarding a helicopter -- crouched down and running.

3. Iggy has no rhythm

No matter what the band is playing, Iggy is gyrating, twitching, jerking, jolting and shuddering to his own internal music; there’s no connection to the beat of the song whatsoever. He was constantly moving throughout the 80-minute set, inciting the crowd to spastically dance along with him. At one point during No Fun, the crowd was invited on stage to shake it with Iggy. Shake they did, with a bit of choking in there for good measure.

Also: Check out the Stooges’ 18-page rider at the Smoking Gun. The site calls it "the single most entertaining concert rider TSG has ever obtained."

-- Ian Cauthery