Lou Reed minus his glitter

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33912, 4 August 1975, Page 14

Lou Reed minus his glitter

1 A new-image Lou Reed last night gave a superb performance before a capacity audience in the Town Hall. i Reed strolled on to the stage and went straight into his first number. Throughout his •| performance he did not acknowledge the audience. He jigged through new and old numbers such as “Walk on the W’ild Side,” “’Charlie’s Girl,” “White Light” and "Heroin." Compared with last year’s performance, last night’s must have been disappointing to those of his fans who went to see his antics. Reed was quiet and seemed ■ to be there to give the rest of the audience the music they had gone for. He was unobtrusively dressed and had none of his former glitter. It was a strong act vocally but not visually. His backing hand would have been one of the best rock and roll bands Christchurch has seen for some time. Their playing was inventive and well timed. The sax player gave brilliant solos in "Walk on the Wild Side.” Retaining the "cool” image throughout, Reed never said a word to the audience nor introduced his backing band. His fans loved him and he left the stage with them still stomping and clapping. The supporting Christ-

U,church group, Odyssey, was j j in direct contrast with Reed, (Appearing on the stage in '! outlandish gear and jumping 6 ! through their act, they did I not make much of an impression on the audience. e; They did a poor imitation s;bf the New York Dolls, and s went through a variety of old standards. e S.L. d