RIP Lou Reed: A Philly tribute

The legendary Lou Reed has passed away. According to Rolling Stone Magazine, the musical icon passed away today. He was 71. Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone writes:

With the Velvet Underground in the late Sixties, Reed fused street-level urgency with elements of European avant-garde music, marrying beauty and noise, while bringing a whole new lyrical honesty to rock & roll poetry. As a restlessly inventive solo artist, from the Seventies into the 2010s, he was chameleonic, thorny and unpredictable, challenging his fans at every turn. Glam, punk and alternative rock are all unthinkable without his revelatory example. “One chord is fine,” he once said, alluding to his bare-bones guitar style. “Two chords are pushing it. Three chords and you’re into jazz.”

While the cause of his death is currently unknown, the icon underwent a liver transplant last May.

In the late Sixties/early Seventies, Velvet Underground played several clubs in Philly including The Trauma, which was located at 21st and Arch Streets and the Second Fret (19th and Sansom Streets). VU also played Main Point twice in 1970. One run was February 19-22; a second run came from November 19-22nd. In 1968, VU also played the “old” Electric Factory. In September, 1968 they opened for The Nazz for two nights and they performed at the Factory with Philly’s American Dream in 1969.

In February 2012, Lou Reed appeared at the University of Pennsylvania for a special Live at the Writer’s House in an interview he did with music critic and writer Anthony DeCurtis. Watch it below.

Below, listen to a couple of performances featuring Lou and his band from the Mann Music Center in July, 1986 and an early Velvet Underground show at The Second Fret in 1970.