John Cale To Play 'Velvet Underground and Nico' Live

50th celebration in Liverpool - 26th May 2017 also New York.

John Cale to play Velvet Underground and Nico live - BBC News »

 

Is this a Lou Reed tribute too? I sort of hoped he would record something for him.

 

That will be an ok concert.

I'm not going any farther than ok...just yet.

 

how will he 'play' Nico?

 

Have a guest female vocalist.

 

You're an optimist. I'm still stuck on "why bother".

 

Sounds like a cash grab. I'd rather he do Music for a New Society.

 

And I'm just scratching my head. Like Cale, love the Velvets, but after half a century, hmmm, can't feel excited.

 

Maybe not so much a cash grab as attracting an audience. It's hard.

 

I think this is an unfair way to characterize this. We don't know WHY Cale is doing this beyond what he has stated--a tribute to celebrate an album he had a key hand in recording. If this truly was a cash grab he would call Mo and talk her into creating a "new" Velvet Underground for this and tour as the VU.

Seems to me he has every right to revisit this and it could be something as simple as celebrating his deceased band mates and the legacy of a band that he had a hand in.

 

He did this in April in Paris with special guests. I wonder why he didn't wait.
The record's 50th anniversary is next year. It deserves a revisit at that time.
You go, John!

He did.

 

He can gladly grab my cash for the New York City show.

 

He has sung All Tomorrow's Parties very well in the past.

 

Liverpool tickets are £55. The venue is a derelict wasteland by the docks.

"I'm often reluctant to spend too much time on things past - then, a time marker shows up - The Velvet Underground & Nico turns 50 ! As so many bands can attest to, its the fulfillment of the ultimate dream to record your first album. We were an unfriendly brand, dabbling in a world of challenging lyrics and weird sonics that didn't fit into anyone's playlist at the time. Remaining ferociously true to our viewpoints, Lou and I never doubted for a moment, we could create something to give a voice to things not regularly explored in rock music at the time. That bizarre combination of 4 distinctly disparate musicians and a reluctant beauty queen perfectly summed up what it meant to be The Velvet Underground. Some things you can never duplicate -- so we will celebrate!!" john cale, 2016

 

I vote for Hope Sandoval

 

Cale doing the first VU banana album tribute show,,,

 

Like you wouldn't go to the concert with Bev Bevan playing Eldorado.

Or Mick Avory playing Village Green Preservation Society.

Or Kasim Sultan playing Bat Out of Hell.

 

Good point but the difference would be Cale actually co-wrote some of the material and was Reed's perfect foil.

 

He should replace Lou with Doug Yule.

 

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That would put the Squeeze on John.

 

At the Paris show Mark Lanegan sang "All Tomorrow's Parties" whilst Jane Birkin's daughter Lou Doillon sang "Femme Fatale"

 

that was pretty good!

 

Mine too.

 

I think the one time Cale could have been accused of "cash grabbing" was the 1993 VU reunion, but even then he had hopes of creating something new and exciting, only hanging around out of respect for Moe and Sterling. Cale has pretty much done his best to avoid fame and fortune. The VU songs played in Liverpool will be different from the '67 LP arrangements