Watch Iggy Pop Perform “James Bond” On Fallon With The Roots, Noveller, & Leron Thomas
Three years ago, leathery immortal Iggy Pop reaffirmed his rock-god bona fides, teaming up with Queens Of The Stone Age leader Josh Homme to release the tense, sweaty comeback Post Pop Depression. But last week, Pop released Free, a new album that veers off into a completely different direction. Pop recorded Free with Sarah Lipstate, the Brooklyn noise-rocker who records as Noveller, and with the jazz trumpeter Leron Thomas. Together, they made something loose and meditative and weird. And last night, the three of them took that sound to the stage at The Tonight Show.
On last night’s show, Iggy Pop performed the Free/em> single “James Bond” with an all-star band backing him up. Lipstate and Thomas joined Pop onstage, with Thomas bursting in with a cathartic, climactic solo and Lipstate bringing an icy sort of glamor that was equal parts Kim Gordon and Brigitte Bardot. And the Roots backed him up, too — a fascinating combination of musical talents that we’re probably only going to see this one time.
The band sounded fantastic, which should not be a surprise. And Iggy Pop didn’t just wear a shirt; he wore a jacket, too! A whole different Iggy! But Pop’s flirty, off-kilter star power still came across in this different context, jacket or no. Watch the performance below.
Free is out now on Loma Vista.