Iggy and The Stooges.

Gimme Danger is a Jim Jarmusch production and a residency at The Chapter Arts Theatre has proven to be fruitful for a number of audiences. The movie unleashes the beast that is Iggy Pop and The Stooges and the narrative heads through the annuls of an action packed tale. Easily the most potent pop product of its era bit the backside of the banal with a Search and Destroy mantra . The sonic scene of the late 60’s and early 70’s was given a major shake up with the arrival a feral force whose influence has since spread far and wide across the aural landscape.

New standards were set and any rule book was torched as the Ig and his associates stampeded over the sterile. The Stooges created a sound, style and spectacle that embodied the whole sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll ethos. Contemporary music is a mix of everything that has gone before and the odour of originality is a stale one. However, nearly fifty years ago there was a blank canvas and these Detroit demons fired out a kaleidoscope of colours.

This film explores a TNT tale and there has been criticism from some quarters as elements of this epic adventure have been avoided. Texts such as Please Kill Me could offer further narratives but the jigsaw pieces here still unite to form an entertaining and incisive account of an awesome act (who operated in two phases with a post millennium liaison as well).

Certain key players are no longer with us but integral entities such as the Asheton brothers are well represented on screen and of course the ultimate Down on the Street survivor Iggy Pop is present and pulsating. There. are highs and lows, fun and No Fun but the overall outcome is an energetic and engaging slice of cinema.

The vast cast of characters that play roles in the proceedings add to the attraction as we salivate over a who’s who of what’s wild, weird and wonderful! It is amazing to think that Iggy is still with us and that he is making relevant records such as the recent Post Pop Depression album. Here is a man that has pushed walls down and sometimes had these structures come crashing down on him. Nonethless, he keeps on keeping on. Gimme Danger explains a legacy that is fuelled by nothing other than Raw Power.

The Stooges cannot function any more with the deaths of imperative personnel but Jarmusch had done a fine job in ensuring that the memories of these Ann Arbor assassins are alive and well.