When Lou Reed took the stage for the Highline Ballroom’s 1-year anniversary bash amid the Louuuuuuuuing crowd, he raised his arms triumphantly, and an ever-so-slight grin crept up the edges of the typically stony-faced songwriter’s leathery visage. Perhaps it was his recent nuptials to his longtime companion, the performance artist Laurie Anderson, or that he was just glad to be home after a 2-week national tour, but one thing remained clear: this was a far cry from so-called ‘Phantom of Rock’ who penned Berlin.
Lou kicked things off with 2000’s “Mad” about, in typical Lou fashion, the tail end of a relationship. “I know I shouldn’t have had someone else in our bed / but I was so tired, so tired,” he spoke-sang. Reed’s voice has grown considerably deeper over the years, losing a bit of his rambling, drug-induced inflection and approaching the scratchy baritone of American IV-era Johnny Cash, which may be why he chooses to omit Velvet Underground classic “Stephanie Says” from most of his shows; he can’t hit half those notes anymore.
“Sweet Jane” was the first of four Velvet tunes sung throughout the evening, and though Lou dropped some words, including the “Heavenly wine and roses” verse, it still sounded good. Reed was joined by Rob Wasserman on the upright electric bass, Tony “Thunder” Smith on drums, Kevin Hearn on keyboard, the great Steve Hunter on guitar, and Sarth Calhoun on the Macbook. Yet, for all of Hunter’s fiery guitar solos, it was saxophonist John Zorn who supplied these aging rockers with the edge they needed. In January, Zorn performed with Lou and his new bride Laurie Anderson at a special benefit for his Avenue C club The Stone, which was released as a benefit album.
With great aplomb and remarkable dexterity belying his 66 years of age, Reed launched into a 15-minute rendition of “Ecstasy,” punctuated by Zorn’s frantic saxophone fits, Hunter’s meandering guitar, and Wasserman’s bowed bass. After giving a nod to its recent appearance in the indie breakout hit Juno, Reed decided to dust off the VU outtake “I’m Sticking With You,” with keyboardist Kevin Hearn doing his best impersonation of Velvet drummer Moe Tucker on vocals, before being joined by Lou for the reprise.
Reed then serenaded his bride with a new song, the soft ballad “Power of the Heart,” featuring a tender, acoustic guitar. “I say this to you and it’s not a lark: marry me today. And she said yes,” sang a beaming Reed, followed by the crowd cheering for Anderson, hidden in the VIP area amid celebs like longtime friend Julian Schnabel.
The bard of the East Village then got back to his seedy roots with his elegiac tribute to East Villagers affected by AIDS, “Halloween Parade,” (from New York) but not before launching into a nice little rant about how we have an idiot president who spends money mowing people down in other countries, as opposed to solving problems at home. “How did we get from this to that?” he asked.
“There’s a bit of magic in everything and then some loss to even it out,” Lou sang on “Magic and Loss,” the title track off of one of my favorite Lou Reed albums of the past 15 years, signaling the set’s end.
Lou in jovial, crowd-pleasing mode, emerged for an encore of “Satellite of Love,” with drummer “Thunder” Smith supplanting the song’s producer David Bowie on backup vocals. This was followed by “Walk on the Wild Side” - Lou’s only real ‘hit’ song, and one of the most unlikely mainstream hits in music history. The song transported the bougie, well-dressed crowd, who shelled out $85 for a ticket, back to the Cruising-era East Village (okay, it wasn’t THAT racy), filled with transsexuality, drugs, and male prostitutes.
Reed then, surrounded by his band, again raised his arms in celebration. “I’ll see you all tomorrow outside,” the legendary New Yorker said, before sending his crowd of middle-aged admirers out into the trendy Meatpacking District on this beautiful, moonlit night.
--Marlow Stern [May 13, 2008]
SET LIST
01) Mad
02) Sweet Jane
03) I'm Set Free
04) Ecstasy
05) I'm Sticking With You
06) Power of the Heart
07) I Wanna Know
08) Halloween Parade
09) Video Violence
10) Guardian Angel
11) Magic and Loss
12) Satellite of Love
13) Walk on the Wild Side
