lust for life 01 wm 1

LIVE: Lust For Life Tour


LUST FOR LIFE TOUR – Liverpool Academy 8th March 2024

image


Who knew Katie Puckrik, known by many as the vivacious and effervescent American presenter on the cult UK TV show ‘The Word,’ would in 2024 morph into Iggy Pop on stage? Her infectious and utterly mesmerizing performance alongside a band of all-star musicians was revelatory. And what a band she had – Kevin Armstrong, a Bowie and Iggy veteran, led the guitar surge, alongside Clem Burke of Blondie on drums, Glen Matlock, formerly of the Sex Pistols, on bass, Luis Correia (Earl Slick) on second guitar, and classical pianist, composer, and touring member of Heaven 17, Florence Sabeva on keyboards..

The night began with Pareidolia, a young band making their live debut. They hail from the Wirral in Merseyside and are still at school, but they showed zero nerves and delivered a short, punchy set of scuzzy rock numbers which had a Runaways vibe and fitted in perfectly with the tone of the night. A bright future awaits.

pareidolia 02 AVP scaled


Next on stage was Fifteen Lions, replete with Tom Selleck’s ‘tache and he certainly knew his way around a guitar demonstrating some incredible licks with a set that had a slightly ’80s alt-pop vibe.

FIF


Prior to the headliner Suzi Ronson, David Bowie’s hairstylist turned author, arrived to talk about her forthcoming Book Me and Mr Jones: My Life with David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars. She shared anecdotes from her time touring with Ziggy and her future husband, Mick Ronson with eloquence and humour. And the crowd did actually listen, which can be a rarity these days!  

14 SUZY RONSON Lust For Life Andy Von PipAndy Von Pip

Then came the main event. And Boom ! Puckrik owned the stage from the first note of ‘Lust for Life,’ her enthusiasm absolutely contagious. The band ripped through the entire album, from the ferocious adrenaline rush of the title track to the garage rock of ‘Fall In Love With Me,’ without ever sounding like a tribute band per se. The show is essentially an updated reboot of a classic album, which highlighted the band’s deep connection to the music, allied to Puckrik’s indefatigable energy, which gave it a whole new twist, whilst respecting its iconic status. 

Highlights included the title track (obviously,) an incendiary version of ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog,’ ‘NightClubbing’ plus ‘China Girl ‘ and deep cuts from Pop’s solo career like ‘I’m Bored’ and ‘Five Foot One,’

02 Lust For Life Andy Von PipAndy Von Pip

The second half of the set acknowledged the band members’ own musical legacies with Puckrik tackling Blondie’s  ‘Hanging On the Telephone’ with style and passion whilst Matlock still clearly enjoys performing ‘Pretty Vacant,’ probably The Pistols’ finest moment and one he recently admitted was inspired (melodically) by ABBA’s ‘SOS.’

06 Lust For Life Andy Von PipAndy Von Pip


The night concluded with a raging, explosive version of the legendary ‘Search and Destroy,’ with Puckrik still exuding enough energy to power a medium-sized city. It’s not just Puckrik’s infectious energy, that was remarkable, what truly impressed was her ability to capture the spirit of Iggy’s performance without simply imitating him. She made it her own.

Before this gig, I really couldn’t imagine what a band performing ‘Lust for Life’ fronted by Puckrik would be like. Now, I couldn’t imagine anybody else pulling it off with such style, panache and effortless cool. Imagine how much fun this show would be at a festival! 

09 Lust For Life Andy Von PipAndy Von Pip 1

Photos : WWW.ANDYVONPIPPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

Excellent Interview about Lust For Life with Katie here

012 Lust For Life Andy Von PipAndy Von Pip

In Pictures: The Last Dinner Party/ Picture Parlour

In Pictures: The Last Dinner Party / Picture Parlour: Manchester 12/10/2023

“They say a picture paints a thousand words, which is handy as I haven’t got time to write a thousand words. So, ahead of their appearance on Jools Holland, [Watch after 21/10/23 HERE] here are some live photos of The Last Dinner Party at Manchester Academy. You can read my interview with them [HERE]. Support came from Picture Parlour, who have just released their second single, “Judgement Day”, and you can read my interview with them [HERE]

THE LAST DINNER PARTY

TLDPoWM AVP

TLDPo2WM AVP

TLDPo6WM AVP scaled

TLDPo1WM AVP

TLDPo4WM AVP

TLDPo3WM AVP

TLDPo7WM AVP scaled

fansandambAVP scaled

PICTURE PARLOUR

PP AVP 1 WM

PP AVP 2 WM

BWPP AVP 1 WM

PP AVP 6WM scaled