Even if you aren’t a fan of Lou Reed or The Velvet Underground, he’s one of those checklist artists.
Never seen him live?
Well, you had your chance this weekend, when Reed performed Friday at The NorVa in Norfolk (that would be the named-in-this-issue-of-Rolling-Stone-as-one-of-the-best-rock-clubs-in-the-nation NorVa) and Saturday at our National.
Were you one of the 900 or so fans who saw Reed glide through an historical catalog including “Sweet Jane” and “Magic and Loss,” the latter culminating in a furious swell of sound anchored by drummer Tony “Thunder” Smith, who lost several sticks in the process?
Reed’s speak-sung delivery doesn’t have much range – but that flatness is his signature, whether it’s on the droll, dry (and not often played) “Walk on the Wild Side” or the Underground’s “I’m Sticking With You,” an uncharacteristically sweet tune broadcast to a new generation thanks to its inclusion in “Juno.”
At 66, a lean Reed, who married longtime love Laurie Anderson two weeks ago, is still very much in control on stage, directing the band through hand signals – a discreet palms up to Smith to back off the snare, a deliberate stance in front of guitarist Michael Rathke to play along with him and have an unspoken conversation – but his well-documented reputation as a curmudgeon was often contradicted.
During band introductions, he joked to veteran Rob Wasserman about his cool standup electric bass, “How low can you go?” and even somewhat smiled when introducing computer wizard Sarth Calhoun as “Mr. Professor.”
Most amusingly, while taking their final bows after the sparsely melodic “Pale Blue Eyes,” Reed and the band casually shook hands with a guy making his way down the receiving line – until the overzealous fan was shuttled offstage by security.
So what did you think? Was it worth the wait? Will you try to catch him in North Carolina or New York before he heads to Europe in June?
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