White Light/White Heat - The Velvet Underground in Concert

This was a very memorable concert for me in hindsight. I experienced Lou Reed and Todd Rundgren on the same stage on the same night in a small club. The show was at the Electric Factory and The Velvet Underground was opening for the local band Nazz which had a hit on the local radio... Open My Eyes from their recently released album. This was in September 1968. It was a great show. 

Both bands were hot but Nazz was really great with many other memorable tunes like Hello It's Me and Wildwood Blues. There was a third band on the bill which I don't really remember much about. A blues band from Boston... Colwell/Winfield Blues Band.

I had both of the Velvet Underground albums released up to that point in time and I thought this new album was way over the top. Especially Sister Ray. There was nothing out there like it. Well, I was listening to a lot of Frank Zappa at the time. 

Actually I saw The Velvet Underground twice in 1968. The first time was in March at The Trauma on Arch Street about a block from the Electric Factory in downtown Philly. They mostly played songs off of their first album from 1967. The sound was not very good that night and I was disappointed that Nico was not on the stage. 

I would go on to see Lou Reed as a solo act a few more times in the 1970's. I would never see Todd Rundgren again.