30/01/2026

Iggy Pop & Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – Spark Arena: January 29, 2026 (13th Floor Concert Review)

The Godfather and the Goddess of Punk converged on Auckland’s Spark Arena last night proving that Rock & Roll Is Here To Stay.

Just a fortnight ago I, and many others, were raving that, two weeks into the new year, David Byrne had put on, what was potentially the “Concert Of The Year”.

Now, two weeks later, Joan Jett and Iggy Pop may very well have already taken that title for their own.

And the most heartening aspect of all this…for those of us of a certain age, is that Byrne and Iggy are both well into their 70s, while Jett is a spritely 67.

Proving that rock & roll is the true fountain of youth.

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

We missed ZED…they had an early start…and we had dinner to eat (do M&M’s count as food?) and drinks to down.

Joan and the band took the stage at 7:30 sharp and promptly rocked the house beginning with Victim Of Circumstance, Cherry Bomb and Do You Wanna Touch Me and closing with I Love Rock & Roll, Crimson & Clover, I Hate Myself For Loving You and Bad Reputation.

And kudos to The Blackhearts for sounding like a simple, straighforward rock & roll band…they are Hal Selzer (bass), Michael McDermott (drums) and the very excellent Dougie Needles on guitar….and I think that was Joan’s longtime producer/manager/creative partner Kenny Laguna on keyboards.

Other highlights of the 80-minute set included a cover of Sly Stone’s Everyday People and Lie To Me…a deep cut from the 1991 album, Notorious, that got many fans’ attention.

Possibly the only music misstep was the cover of The Replacements’ Androgynous…love the sentiment, but it didn’t rock so much.

Joan herself looked and sounded timeless…long may she rock.

Iggy Pop

And what can I say about Iggy that hasn’t already been said? Just the fact that, here, in 2026, James Osterberg still walks among us is something of a miracle.

Yet, here he is, bare chested and writhing on the stage like a man a fraction of his age (78).

And what a setlist!

T.V. Eye, Raw Power and I Got A Right get things going, while the night ended with a glorious three-way of Nighclubbing, Funtime and Louie, Louie.

No peanut butter was smeared, but the 7-piece band (including two horn players) created a devastating wall of noise that never overpowered the Iggster.

The setlist was a virtual history of punk, from I Wanna Be Your Dog, Search and Destroy and 1970 to later classics like Passenger, Lust For Life and Real Wild Child.

Iggy took a moment to savour a glass of wine, but other than that it was hard-hitting rock & roll from beginning to end.

Thank you Iggy, thank you Joan and thank the Gods for rock & roll!

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Brenna Jo Gotje (resident 13^th Floor rock & roll goddess)

And the Summer Tour rolls on…

Tickets are still available for the Lake Wānaka show this Saturday, January 31, and can be purchased at greenstoneentertainment.co.nz or at the box office.

Iggy Pop: