First viewed : 11 December 1993
Channel Four had something of a Velvet Underground night this Saturday evening. I tuned in for part of a concert broadcast from the reunion gigs in Paris in June. The programme was put together from three separate gigs. While recognising their seminal role in pop culture I've always been largely indifferent to their music but it was fairly enjoyable. In middle age , they were all far more accomplished musicians than in their heyday so it was interesting to hear such rough-edged fare as White Light White Heat performed so slickly. Drummer Maureen Tucker looked even more like she'd dropped by on her way to Wal-mart.
The VU have always left me somewhat cold, and I figured it was a "you had to be there at the time" kind of gig. If these shows had merit, I wonder if it was the rest of the band catching up with John Cale, who did make several solo albums that I've enjoyed far more than anything than the VU or Lou Reed churned out.
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