SHARING THE SHOWS
My first exposure to the Velvet Underground came when I heard Phish play “Rock and Roll” for the big Y2K extravaganza at Big Cypress. I then heard them bust out other tunes like “Sweet Jane” and “Sunday Morning” which I heard with Drew/Brometheus when they played it for the Baker’s Dozen. The theme that night: Velvet (i.e., red velvet donuts). As I thought of that, I devised a joke. If I bought something with velvet, and buried it underground, would I have “velvet underground?” I LOVE those lame puns!
At any rate, I love rockumentaries, as indicated by my last post, so when I saw a movie being released on the Velvet Underground, I figured, why not? I prepared by listening to their self-titled debut (as indicated by the banana up top), and kinda dug their psychedelic vibe that was indicative of the late 60s/early 70s. The interview with Sterling Morrison indicated that he was one of the main facilitators behind the sound of one note extending for several beats, which was a feature of psychedelic rock (hear the extended G on Donovan’s “Hurdy Gurdy Man” for an example). After a morning conversing with fellow aces and aros at a Meetup and a short hike at Rock Creek Park, I returned to E Street Cinema and was, once again, delighted to find mostly solo theatergoers, along with two couples in the theater. This is my element. I didn’t know much about the Velvet Underground, but I learned they were managed by avant-garde artist Andy Warhol (who I’ll always associate with Crispin Glover’s portrayal of him in The Doors) and were intertwined with his films that often utilized their music. We were treated to a bunch of shots of 1970s New York City, which always has character for me, along with some of their performances, most notably at the Boston Tea Party (I would have loved to hit a show there back in the day).. I learned some other interesting things about the artists, such as Lou Reed growing up in the suburban landscape of Freeport, Long Island, him breaking his hand before a performance and being told by a manager to play anyway because his guitar would sound “just as shitty” as with a functioning hand. They also hated that “flower power garbage” that came from the 60s hippies. “Handing out a flower’s not gonna stop some bozo that wants to shoot you,” is what one band member said. During the film, I got to hear some of the songs I’d been prepping with: “Run Run Run,” “Heroin,” “Rock and Roll,” “Sweet Jane,” “Sunday Morning” (which was in my head as I woke up this morning), and many others. The movie closed with Lou Reed giving an acoustic performance. All in all, I wouldn’t go out of my way to see a Velvet Underground tribute or spend money on them, but I gained a newfound appreciation and respect for their artistry or musicianship.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
April 2024
Categories |