Iggy goes spastic with Stooges again

Iggy Pop may forever be remembered as the man whose stage persona has been copied nearly as many times as James Brown’s. For almost 40 years, tales of his self-annihilation and audience confrontation have led younger bucks to try to learn his tricks. Singers from Axl Rose to Scott Weiland to Anthony Kiedis have put on their psychic Iggy suits and tried to turn it more sinister, more sexy or more extreme, but usually it’s obvious how hard they are trying.

Pop’s talent, as demonstrated on stage at the Wiltern on Monday, is his ability to unhinge himself effortlessly, to go loosey-goosey and channel a toddler, making up his pure, spastic moves as he goes.

Pop recently resurrected the Stooges, the long-dead Michigan band with whom his legend was first created. The reunion with brothers Ron Asheton on guitar and Scott Asheton on drums (supplemented by original saxophonist Steve Mackay and Southern California punk hero Mike Watt on bass) first came at the Coachella Festival in 2003.

The band has performed together occasionally since then, but its current tour coincides with “The Weirdness,” its first album of new material since 1973’s “Raw Power.” “The Weirdness” has received mixed reviews, some claiming it threatens the Stooges’ legacy, others willing to give it a pass because of said legacy.

The song selection for Monday’s show drew almost equally from the band’s first two albums (its self-titled 1969 debut and “Fun House”) and “The Weirdness.” The set was powered by Scott Asheton’s insistent, head-down drumming, summoning a mood of persisting despair. Even though fans were invited onto the stage for “Real Cool Time” and “No Fun,” this was no celebration.

Pop just turned 60, but that didn’t stop him from hurtling his perpetually shirtless body into the crowd. Before beginning “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” Pop limply shot his arms out to his sides as the microphone cord hung across his shoulders -- his version of a Christ pose. But he was soon down on all fours, pantomiming a mutt. He looked more comfortable on the floor.