I Am Thankful For Nick Cave And Iggy Pop

Thanksgiving is traditionally the time to be grateful for something, and this year I am thankful to have seen these two legends close and personal. Early summer, I touched Nick Cave’s pants and shoes at the upscale Greek theater surrounded by hundreds of under-the-spell fans, and last October, I shook Iggy Pop’s hand in the middle of the high desert surrounded by dust and crowd surfers.

Both shows were unforgettable, performed by two iconic figures, Nick Cave was a charismatic leader and I immediately joined the cult, Iggy Pop was the punk rebel he has always been and everyone wanted to jump in the pit. I had lumps in my throat during Cave’s intense performance and I couldn’t stop laughing during Pop’s set at Desert Daze…

And you could not think of two more different persona, one wears elegant suits whereas the other one never bothers to put a shirt on, one is dark and tall, the other one is short and makes people hysteric, but at the end, there is something very similar in the way they engage their audience. The intensity is the same, the jumping in the crowd, the way they suddenly pick a girl in the crowd the time of a song or a dance, their stage antics have exactly the same impact and produce the same communion with the ecstatic crowd.

They are two legends who, at respectively 60 and 70, are still inspiring legions of people and do whatever the fuck they want… I guess I had to use at least one f-word for this post. Right now, Nick Cave could not care less about what Brian Eno and Roger Waters think about him and his decision to play in Israel is pissing off tons of people. He has rejected the list Eno wanted him to sign ‘I don’t like lists!’, he said, and it’s clear Nick Cave is not a follower and will always does what he wants. As for Iggy, he has lived his life according to James Osterberg’s will and will always do it his own way. Furthermore, both of them are not ready to slow down: Cave is touring the world and has just finished the European leg of his tour and Iggy Pop has just announced his participation into a UK festival next year with Queens of the Stone Age, Run the Jewels and the Hives.

I am grateful for these two men, two true punks who perform with all their heart and soul, and I hope they will still rock on in 2018.