Last night Benoit and I sat in the small theater in the basement of the Disney Concert Hall as Lou Reed and his art-school buddies bombarded our ears with a wall of electronic sound.
Lou Reed is a very tough minded and uncompromising artist.The music (two extended pieces lasting 1.5 hours) invaded our senses, sounding alternately like avant-garde rock, ambient noise, and the dark side of the moon. It was angry, relentless, merciless, fascinating. Lou Reed hunched over his electric guitar, barely glancing up as he twanged and plucked its strings, while his two partners screeched on saxophone and keyboard. He didn’t say a word, only growled the occasional instruction to his band while denying us the pleasure of hearing his great singing voice.
An amazing legend. Lou Reed.