The Velvet Underground

Live performances and rehearsals

The unanimous opinion was that we were 10 times better live
than we were on records (Sterling Morrison, NME, Apr. 1981)

1965

Dates in gray are uncertain


	April 8, 1965 The East End Theatre, New York, New York 85 E 4th St, New York, NY 10003 Google Maps The Launching of the Dream Weapon As told by Sterling Morrison in Up-tight – The Velvet Underground Story (p. 20).In fact, the quote comes from the article “Going Back in Time to Piero Heliczer” by Sterling Morrison, published in 1979 in issue 9 of the magazine “Little Caesar”. Sterling Morrison: "On an early Spring day in 1965 John and I were strolling through the East-side slums and ran into Angus on the corner of Essex and Delancey. Angus said, 'Let's go over to Piero's', and we agreed. It seems that Piero and Angus were organizing a 'ritual happening' at the time – a mixed-media stage presentation to appear in the old Cinematheque. Naturally, this was well before such events became all the rage. It was to be entitled "Launching the Dream Weapon", and it got launched tumultuously. In the center of the stage there was a movie screen, and between the screen and the audience a number of veils were spread out in different places. these veils were lit variously by lights and slide projectors, as Piero's films shone through them onto screen. Dancers swirled around, and poetry and song occasionally rose up, while from behind the screen a strange music was being generated by Lou, John, Angus and me." Up-Tight – The Velvet Underground Story, Omnibus Press, 1983 (p. 20) Ad: in The Village Voice, April 8,1965 (page 21). AMERICA THEATRE FOR POETS, INC. (...) THURSDAY APRIL 8 AT 9 PM READING ANGUS MAC LISE & PIERO HELICZER THE LAUNCHING OF THE DREAMWEAPON ALL AT THE EAST END THEATRE 85 EAST 4 ST. (OFF 2ND AVE) TICKETS $2.00 $1.00 OR 3-3377

	May 28, 1965 The Cinematheque, New York, New York 85 E 4th St, New York, NY 10003 Google Maps Rites of the Dreamweapon Flyer: 9.5 x 12 in. "RITES OF THE DREAMWEAPON \| a massed perfoRMANCE \| immense Spectacle \| dark rituals of the N.Y. Underground \| MUSICIANS, Dancers, STILTWALKERS \| & troupe of lunar companions MAY 28 - 10 P.M. \| UNTIL DAWN at the CINEMATHEQUE \| 85 E. 4th St." "A collaborative artistic venture from then-couple Angus MacLise and Francis Stillman, this flyer promotes the event hosted by the Film-Makers' Cinematheque on May 28, 1965. "Rites of the Dreamweapon" was a seven-part "Manifestation of the Presence" coordinated by Angus MacLise, former (first) drummer for the Velvet Underground, which made its festival debut in November of the same year." [flyer description at Paddle8 auction house]

	Spring 1965 Café Wha, New York, New York John Cale: "I got Electra to join the Falling Spikes. We played several gigs with her, including a couple at Café Wha." What's Welsh For Zen – The Autobiography of John Cale (p. 76)

	August 11, 1965 Broadway Central Hotel, New York, New York 673 Broadway, New York, NY 10012 Google Maps \| Wikipedia New York Underground Handbill: calligraphy by Angus MacLise. The program is for an eight-hour spectacle including music by The Falling Spikes — an early incarnation of the band before they changed their name to The Velvet Underground. Reproduced in the Angus MacLise \| Dreamweapon catalog (p. 16). August 11, 1965. The notes at the end of the catalog (p. 118) state that Andy Warhol also screened films at this event (also on the flyer). This occured several months before his official “first meeting” with the band. However, there is no evidence that Andy Warhol and the members of what was not yet called the Velvet Underground actually crossed paths at this event. John (Jack) Anderson: "We used to play at benefits with a group called the Falling Spikes, and together we'd called the Transcendental Simulematic Orchestra: we'd play the background music for underground movies and light shows on dancing people, which was all starting at that time. The Falling Spikes eventually became the musicians for Andy Warhol's group, the Velvet Underground." Mr. Fug joins long-range patrol by Jeff Pollock The New Journal, February 9, 1969 (p. 13) Sterling Morrison: "Those [band names] were jokes. We would call ourselves one thing one night and another thing another. Whoever would show up played. Earlier, when Lou and I were at Syracuse, we would change our name at least once a week. We were playing for fraternities, and they wanted Top Ten music. We didn't know any; all we knew was Jimmy Reed songs and all that. Then the word began to get out, "Don't hire these turkeys." So we would change our name again. Before they knew it, it was too late. L.A. and the Eldorados, Pasha and the Prophets, Moses and His Brothers–it was outrageous." Up From The Underground, Sterling Morrison intervew by Bill Bentley Austin Sun, October 19, 1975

	November 1, 1965 Filmmakers' Cinematheque, New York, New York 434 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10003 Google Maps New Cinema Festival I – Opening Night Rites of the Dream Weapon – I – "The Tremor Rite" Ad: in The Village Voice, October 28, 1965 (p. 28). "NEW CINEMA FESTIVAL I \| Mon Nov. 1 8 pm $2 \| RITES OF THE DREAMWEAPON \| ANGUS MACLISE: THE TREMOR RITE \| Part 1 of a seven part manifestation of the presence." Placard: 18 x 8 inch placard printed in thick blue ink on blue stock (see picture at November 5, 1965 entry). Program notes: for New Cinema Festival I. Rites of the Dreamweapon is a seven-part "Manifestation of the Presence" coordinated by Angus MacLise. Reproduced in Angus MacLise \| Dreamweapon catalog (p. 20). Program: for opening night "Rites of the Dreamweapon I \| The Tremor Rite". Mentions "Music by: The Velvet Underground" (John Cale, Lew Reed, Sterling Morrison, Angus MacLise). Reproduced in Angus MacLise \| Dreamweapon catalog (p. 23). Sterling: "The antecedent of that [Exploding Plastic Inevitable] was done in the old Cinematheque – all done by film people – things which Angus called ritual happenings. "Rites of the Dream Weapon" did you ever see a poster for that? Yes, that was the first one. Before Ken Kesey or anybody. Angus had seen lots of Dervish dancing while he was in India. He had been there for eight years and he came back with his raga scales and assortment of drums and so we used to put on these things and they had films. Piero Heliczer was involved in that." Fusion No. 28, March 6, 1970

	November 5, 1965 Filmmakers' Cinematheque, New York, New York 434 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10003 Google Maps New Cinema Festival I Rites of the Dream Weapon – III – "The Mysteries of the Essence Chamber" Ad: in The Village Voice, November 4, 1965 (p. 22). (...) III: The Mysteries Of The Essence Chamber \| Angus MacLise (...)" Program: for "MYSTERIES OF THE ESSENCE CHAMBER \| A metaphysical variety show, being part III of: \| RITES OF THE DREAMWEAPON". Mentions "I: HER SACRED QUANDRY --- being random movements to the sounds of "The Velvet Underground", also "MUSICIANS: Jerry Jennings and The Velvet Underground: Lew Reed, Sterling Morrison, John Cale, Angus Maclise." Review: *Festival I* The New Yorker, December 4, 1965 (pages 52-53) The Film-Makers' Cinematheque, a society of avant-garde film-makers, with headquarters at the Astor Place Playhouse, devoted last month to something called the New Cinema Festival I, which was described in a prospectus as "a survey of recent experiments to expand the dimensions of cinema" through the use of "multiple screens, multiple projectors, multiple images, inter-related screen forms and images, film-dance, moving slides, kinetic sculptures, handheld projectors, balloon screens, video tape and video projections, light and sound experiments." We have always had a weakness for ambitious prospectuses, so when we read this one we headed for the Astor Place Playhouse to take in a representative sample of Festival programs. We came away convinced that the Cinematheque is fulfilling all its promises, and then some. The Playhouse is in the basement of 434 Lafayette Street, which was constructed in 1831 and was occupied by both John Jacob Astor and Washington Irving. The Cinematheque, by contrast, was founded only in 1963, and already it has had six homes and is planning another move, according to John Brockman, its new managing director. Mr. Brockman is a clean-shaven, wellscrubbed man of twenty-four who graduated from the Babson Institute in 1961 and took an M.B.A. in finance at Columbia Business School in 1963; his taste in clothes runs to dark threepiece suits, white shirts, and muted ties, and makes him easy to find in the lobby of the Playhouse, where most of the patrons dress just about the way struggling film-makers might be expected to dress. "We've signed a year's lease on the 41st Street Theatre, which is between Sixth Avenue and Broadway," Mr. Brockman told us. "All this moving around has got to stop. I took this job to bring some sanity to the experimental-film world. The Cinematheque has been too inefficient, too incestuous up to now. Which doesn't mean it hasn't had a great impact. This is a festival that wouldn't have been possible five years ago. Everybody knew what a film was then. Not anymore. We've invited people from all the creative arts. We're trying to break down people's ideas of what film is. Film doesn't have to be movies. We don't define it at all, except as 'a visual experience.'" We understood Mr. Brockman's difficulties with definition when we saw our first program, which turned out to be Part III of a week-long presentation entitled "Rites of the Dreamweapon" and "coordinated" by Angus MacLise. Part III, "The Mysteries of the Essence Chamber," was set on a stage that resembled the inside of a bombedout church being used for a rummage sale. An assemblage of objects, dimly lit by a revolving red-and-green beacon, was separated from the audience by a gauzy, see-through screen, on which two movie projectors were trained. One projector had no film in it, and the other had a short loop of film and kept repeating a few unrecognizable images. The operators of the machines occasionally held colored filters in front of the lenses; sometimes they swivelled the machines around the room, so that the light from them shone briefly on the ceiling and walls. The effect that we found most pleasing was a tattoo of brown spots beamed, possibly by accident, onto the neck of a man sitting in front of us. While the projectors were going their own way, a number of people walked or danced around the stage, accompanied at times by a group of musicians known as The Velvet Underground, who specialize in "mystical rock-'n'-roll" - a form of music that, they have explained, is attained primarily through the use of "amplified distortion." Later, Angus MacLise, a tall, ascetic-looking man of twentyseven with a wispy brown beard, recited some of his poetry. During most of the performance, the noise level - abetted by a demonnically programmed tape recorder - was literally deafening, yet no one left the theatre except a young couple in tlie front row who seemed to be having a private argument. After the program, we went backstage to ask the coordinator if he was satisfied with the evening. Mr.MacLise said that several people had told him they found the experience painful, but that he thought this could be attributed to tension caused by an inability to participate directly in the proceedings. "What I'm trying to do is blend as many elements of existence in our time as possible with the whole stream of ritual motifs developed through history," he explained. "For me, the rock-'n'-roll dancer is an archetypal figure. The fashion model is an archetypal figure." He went on to say that much of his work had been influenced by his travels - especially a recent hitchhiking trip from Istanbul to Benares. He arrived in Benares in time for the Festival of the Great Goddess and, in the courtyard of a Brahman house, saw a celebration in which an attempt was made to "overload the senses" with a barrage of noise and motion. "The theory is that the senses have to be got beyond, because they stand in the way of contact with ourselves," he said. "It's the opposite path to meditation. Only when we batter down the threshold can we hear other things, including the proverbial still small voice within." When our own senses had returned to normal, we paid another visit to the Festival and saw a performance of "The March of the Garter Snakes," by Standish D. Lawder.

	November 10, 1965 Filmmakers Cinematheque, New York, New York 434 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10003 Google Maps Expanded Cinema Festival - The Last Rites Program: reproduced in Pop Goes Art \| Andy Warhol & Velvet Underground (p. 10). Mentions Angus MacLise as first cembalum and John Cale as first viola. Review: Movie Journals by Jonas Mekas (as they appeared in The Village Voice), in Film Culture - Expanded Arts, number 43, Winter 1966. November 18, 1965 article includes a review of The Last Rites at the Filmmakers Cinematheque. Reproduced in Pop Goes Art exhibition box.

	November 1965 New York, New York 450 Grand St, New York, NY 10002 Google Maps The Making of an Underground Film This is a TV report about the underground film scene in New York. Part of the documentary was filmed on the set of Piero Heliczer’s movie Venus In Furs. It features Angus MacLise on percussion, John Cale on viola, Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison on guitars, Moe Tucker on tambourine, Robert J. Richkin on bass, and Piero Heliczer joining the band on saxophone, presumably to perform “Heroin.” The event is recounted in detail by Sterling Morrison in his essay “Going Back in Time to Piero Heliczer,” published in issue 9 of the journal Little Caesar (Dennis Cooper, Los Angeles, 1979). TV: The TV report aired on Walter Cronkite's CBS News program on December 31, 1965. Since then, excerpts have been used in several documentaries about the Velvet Underground. Photos: by Adam Ritchie, available in: Les Inrockuptibles Hors Série \| The Velvet Underground (p. 62-63). White Light/White Heat \| The Velvet Underground Day-By-Day book (1 b&w photo, p. 62-63). The Velvet Underground \| New York Art (p. 20, 21, 22-23, 26, 27, 28, 29). The Velvet Underground \| An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 30-31, 32-33). MOJO magazine, 193, December 2009 (p. 118). UNCUT magazine, Take 151, December 2009 (p. 48-49, 51). The Velvet Underground & Nico \| 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition 6CD (2 photos, p. 8) les inRocKs 2 \| The Velvet Underground, March 2016 (1 photo, p. 4-5) see also Adam Ritchie Photography website. Adam Ritchie: "I was sitting at home in 277 East 10th St, and the phone rang and it was a friend of mine called Barbara Rubin, who was an underground film maker who I’d met around the place. And she said: “I’m in a film, making a film right now with Piero Heliczer, his film, and there’s some music here that is fantastic”. And I said I’d be there in about six minutes. And I was there in seven minutes. It wasn’t very far from where it was. And going up the stairs of the tenement block I could hear this music and they were playing “Heroin” and it was just… It went right through me. I thought it was fabulous music. And I went up into this small apartment, very ordinary apartment, rather like mine, and there were these musicians with painted bodies and stuff and Barbara was playing a nun, fully dressed as a nun, and there was a bloke who looked like a gangster and the Velvets were there with body painting and there was a CBS news photographer and a sidekick photographing it with a movie camera." Tales of Hoppy (1) it INTERNATIONAL TIMES The Magazine of Resistance, July 22, 2016

	December 11, 1965 Summit High School Auditorium, Summit, New Jersey 125 Kent Pl Blvd, Summit, NJ 07901 Google Maps This is the first show with the name "The Velvet Underground" and with Maureen Tucker. It was a triple bill with The Myddle Class as headliners and The Forty Fingers as co-support. This opening was offered by the legendary journalist Al Aronowitz who was also The Myddle Class manager. Announcement: "Musicians Plan Tour" in The Courrier-News, Bridgewater NJ, Monday, November 29, 1965 (page 31). "(...) Also on the program will be The Velvet Underground, four Greenwich Village artists who play an avant-garde type od folk-rock (...)". Mailer: double-sided 8.5 x 11 inch. Xerox reproduced in What Goes On #5 fanzine; in All Yesterdays' Parties \| The Velvet Underground In Print 1966-1971 book (p. XXXVI); in The Velvet Underground \| An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 34); in The Velvet Underground \| New York Art (p. 34). Setlist: There She Goes Again, Venus In Furs, Heroin. Tape: by Al Aronowitz on a Wollensack tape recorder. Al Aronowitz: "What was happening is that I'm taping the concert on my brand, new Wollensack tape recorder, with which the Velvets simply walk away. Someone tells me he saw them pack it up with their equipment. It doesn't take me very long to discover that that the Velvets are a bunch of speed-freaks and junkies. Heroin not only is their favorite song, it's their favorite thing." The origins of The Velvet Underground The Blacklisted Journalist, Column Eighty, December 1, 2002 Film : by Barbara Rubin, no audio. "There is also a film of The Velvet Underground’s first concert appearance, which took place at Summit High School on Dec. 11, 1965. Aronowitz was managing the band at the time, and organized the show, which was headlined by Jersey garage-rock band The Myddle Class, whom Aronowitz managed as well. There is no audio to it, Myles Aronowitz says, but there is some footage of The Velvet Underground. He adds that the film was made by Barbara Rubin, who died in 1980; he describes her as “an experimental filmmaker and close friend of the family. “It’s an art film kind of thing, but it’s great. Most of it is The Myddle Class. But it’s double- and triple-exposed film. You know, a lot of those minutes are overlapping. Some of the fun stuff is, after the concert, there’s sort of this gathering backstage, with people milling about. It’s pretty great. Carole King and Gerry Goffin were partners with my father for The Myddle Class” — the husband-and-wife songwriting team wrote music for the band, and produced their singles — “and they were there, at the concert. They’re featured in this footage, too, as all the musicians are.”" Al Aronowitz’s back pages: Bob Dylan artifacts owned by legendary rock journalist are up for auction by Jay Lustig NJArts.net, January 16, 2025 "Highlights include the earliest known film footage of the Velvet Underground, a band Aronowitz originally managed." Stanford acquires an unseen piece of Beat Generation history Stanford Report, August 11, 2025 Reviews: *Myddle Class Wins Raves At Premiere* Peter Suydam Echoes Sentinel, Warren Township NJ, December 1965 "(...) The most controversial group of the evening was a Greenwich Village quartet known as the "Velvet Underground." The group's repertoire consisted basically of provocative songs about dope and dope addicts. What made for the controversy, in addition to the fact the group's amplifiers were turned up too high, was that the Underground used an amplified violin. The instrument loudly played one or two notes, usually at a slow tempo, then working up to a faster time, to heighten the drama of a number. The result was that it sounded as if there was a bagpipe in the hall. After about ten minutes of this jazz, several members of the audience got up and left. Some said the sound was ear piercing, some said they just wanted to bring on the "Myddle Class" quicker, among reasons for walking out. But a good percentage of the kids thought it was "groovy! (...)" The band was featured twice in the same newspaper. Pop writer Suzie Surfer offered this opinion of the group: "(...) The "Class" was spectacular and really put on a swingin' concert. But let's keep the "Velvet Underground" in the Village, where they belong. (...)" The December 30, 1965, issue published a message from fans who were unhappy with Suzie Surfer's coverage of the band. "Here's a message thought you'd enjoy. It's from "Some 'Velvet Underground' Fans". "You're entitled to your own opinion but just because you dislike a group, you don't have to be so sarcastic and put them down. We're referring to your statement concerning "The Velvet Underground" who appeared recently with the "Myddle Class". You must like only the groups that are carbon copies of others. That's your business. But if a group dares to be original and different from the others don't sound off against them until you learn to understand their music a little better. If the "Velvet Underground" want to go back to the Village, they will without you having to tell them so. Our only answer to that is: Why don't you stick to your surfboard, Suzie. You're no music critic!" I stand corrected—I'm no music critic. But, boy, you fans are sure right, I didn't under- stand the Velvets sound. And stickin' to my surfboard is a lot more fun than hearing about heroin and dope addicts. Better start thinkin' about your 1966 resolutions NOW! Should be a good year. Live it up New Year's Eve !! You've got a year to live it down! HAPPY, HAPPY NEW YEAR, SWINGERS!" I Was A Velveteen Rob Norris Kicks magazine, #1, 1979 (page 52) "(...) Nothing could have prepared the kids and parents assembled in the auditorium for what they were about to experience that night. Our only clue was the small crowd of strange-looking people hanging around in front of the stage. When the curtain went up, nobody could believe their eyes! There stood the Velvet Underground-- all tall and dressed mostly in black; two of them were wearing sunglasses. One of the guys with the shades had VERY long hair and was wearing silver jewelry. He was holding a large violin. The drummer had a Beatle haircut and was standing at a small oddly arranged drum kit. Was it a boy or a girl? Before we could take it all in, evryone was hit by a screeeching surge of sound, with a pounding beat louder than anything we had ever heard. About a minute into the second song, which the singer had introduced as "Heroin", the music began to get even more intense. It swelled and accelerated like a giant tidal wave which was threatening to engulf us all. At this point, most of the audience retreated in horror for the safety of their homes, thoroughly convinced of the dangers of rock & roll music. My friends and I moved a little closer to the stage, knowing that something special was happening. (...)" Sterling: "At Summit we opened with "There She Goes Again", then played "Venus In Furs", and ended with "Heroin". The murmur of surprise that greeted our appearance as the curtain went up increased to a roar of disbelief once we started to play "Venus", and swelled to a mighty howl of outrage and bewilderment by the end of "Heroin". Al Aronowitz observed that we seemed to have an oddly stimulating and polarizing effect on audiences." Up-Tight \| The Velvet Underground Story, 1983 (p. 20) Sterling: "In November we got offered a gig at a high school in Summit, New Jersey. It was $75 for playing three songs in the auditorium. Angus quit – he didn't wanna get paid for playing." The Exploding Plastic Interview by Christian Fevret NME, 6 October 1990, p. 23 Sterling: "On November 11 we played at Summit, it was our first gig with Maureen. We played 'There She Goes Again', 'Venus In Furs' and 'Heroin' - and half the people walked out." The Exploding Plastic Interview by Christian Fevret NME, 6 October 1990, p. 23

	Late December 1965 Café Bizarre, New York, New York 106 W 3rd St, New York, NY 10012 Google Maps Residency gig acquired by Al Aronowitz. The group meets Andy Warhol via Barbara Rubin. Sterling: "Andy heard us once, probably by accident, at the Cafe Bizarre. I remember Gerard Malanga had come there with a whip; he was probably on his way to the Factory for a movie. Anyway he was on the dance floor swinging this huge whip around. I was thinking, "Who is this lunatic?" It turned out to be Gerard." Up From The Underground by Bill Bentley The Texas Sun, October 30, 1975, p. 13 Sterling: "One night [at the Café Bizarre] we played 'The Black Angel's Death Song' and the owner came up and said, 'if you play that song one more time, you're fired.' So we started the next set with it – the all-time version – and got fired." The Lost History of The Velvet Underground by Mary Harron New Musical Express, April 26, 1981, p. 28 Sterling: "We tried to get gigs in the Village that summer. It was supposed to be the avant-garde there – but the clubs didn't want us. But finally we got six nights a week at the Cafe Bizarre, some ungodly number of sets, 40 minutes on and 20 minutes off. We played some covers – 'Little Queenie', 'Bright Lights Big City'... the black R&B songs Lou and I liked – and many of our songs as we had." The Exploding Plastic Interview by Christian Fevret NME, 6 October 1990, p. 23 Sterling: "At Christmas 1965 we were told we had to work New Year's Eve at the Cafe Bizarre, but we didn't want to, so we had to figured out a way to get fired. Around December 30, after a set, the lady who owned the cafe came up and said that if we played 'Black Angel's Death Song' one more time we were fired. So we led off the next set with it. A really good version too..." The Exploding Plastic Interview by Christian Fevret NME, 6 October 1990, p. 23 John: "Gerard Malanga came to the Café Bizarre to see us play. I caught a whiff of him dancing towards us. He said, 'Let me see this band.' Then he said 'Hey, Andy's looking for this, that and the other.' Barbara Rubin brought him down. She knew about us from Piero Heliczer. Sterling, Piero and I were sharing an apartment on Grand Street." The Velvet Years \| Photographs by Stephen Shore, Thunder's Mouth Press, 1995, p. 63 Moe: "I remember playing at the Café Bizarre when he [Andy Warhol] first came to see us. I remember that night. It was exciting. Of course, we all knew who he was. And wow, you know, my first celibrity. I really doubt very much if he had to think about it all, because we were just what he was looking for." The Velvet Years \| Photographs by Stephen Shore, Thunder's Mouth Press, 1995, p. 72 Gerard Malanga: "Barbara [Rubin] was not someone you said "no" to. She had a way about her. Maybe it was her swagger, her demeanor; but I gotta say, most times she was right. And this time she was right when she arrived at the Factory one afternoon to find me all alone and said to me, that she had this rock band she wanted me to hear, and she meant "Now!" And so we hightailed it to the subway and arrived in time at the Cafe Bizarre where shortly the Velvet Underground would be performing. They were still tuning up and going over their playlist. There were several tables chairs lined up along the periphery. Lots of young people lounging around, I surmised. And when the group as gruffy as they were, started playing, Barbara nudged me on to get up and start dancing. She knew I loved to dance. I was hesitant at first; I felt I'd only be in their way. You see, there was no stage separating them from the dance floor; but Barbara insisted, stating that they wouldn't even notice me. So I got up and started going through my routine solo, and at one point I undid the whip I had wrapped around my belt and danced with it just as the Velvets began their song, "Venus in Furs" which I knew nothing about. How synchronous was that?! And everyone got up from their chairs and started dancing also, like it was a frenzy of some sort. During the intermission, Lou and John came up to me and said it was amazing. They kept saying no one was dancing to the music and they wanted that to happen desperately and invited me back anytime... and so it happened." Gerard Malanga Official \| Gerard Malanga In Search of the Miraculous \| April 14, 2021 an interview about making movies with Gerard Malanga by Lisa Marie Järlborn, editor_in_chief/publisher of the Love Love Magazine Photos: by Adam Ritchie, available in: The Velvet Underground & Nico - Deluxe Edition CD booklet (1 b&w photo, p. 2). Les Inrockuptibles Hors série \| The Velvet Underground, June 2002 (1 color + 2 b&w photos, p. 27, 52, 53). MOJO 124, March 2004 (1 full-page color photo, p. 64 + 1 small b&w, p. 70). c/o The Velvet Underground catalogue (2 b&w photos, p. 8, 20-21). White Light/White Heat - The Velvet Underground Day-By-Day book (1 b&w photo, p. 2, 63). Lou Reed - Les Coffrets Cultes (1 b&w 240x280 mm photo on 300 gram coated paper). The Velvet Underground - An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 36, 38, 39). The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 4-5, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42). UNCUT magazine, Take 151, December 2009 (p. 56). The Velvet Underground & Nico \| 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition 6CD (p. 10, 11, 12). les inRocKs 2 \| The Velvet Underground, March 2016 (1 full-page color photo, p. 13) see also Adam Ritchie Photography website. There is a photo of the exterior of Cafe Bizarre, taken by Fred W. McDarrah on June 7, 1959, and published in the book New York Scenes (Abrams Books, 2018, page 49). Another similar photograph, taken at night on November 14, 1959, is available in the Bettman Archive. The Cafe Bizare, 106 West Third St., June 7, 1969. The club was a crossroads for Beat writers and jazz musicians. The headliner the night it opened in 1957 was singer and civil rights activist Odetta. Others who played there included the Velvet Underground (Andy Warhol first saw them there), the Gerry Mulligan Quartet, George Shearing, and Charlie Parker. Beats including Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, and Diane di Prima were regulars. Fred W. McDarrah \| New York Scenes, Abrams Books, 2018, page 49 There is also a photo by Billy Name in the booklet of the special "Velvet" edition of Songs for Drella. It is credited as being taken at Cafe Bizarre in November 1965. However, in an interview at the Warhol exhibition in France in 1990, Maureen Tucker and Sterling Morrison discuss a photo purporting to show the Velvet Underground at Café Bizarre. She says that the photo could not have been taken at the Bizarre because it shows her behind a drum kit, which she says she was not allowed to play at the Bizarre. (She had to play the tambourine.) The photo was actually taken on April 11, 1967, at the Cheetah in New York City.
Home Thanks: Gordon Lyon & Aral Sezen, Callie Angell, Steve Nelson, Tom, Esther Robinson, Michael Prosser, Alfredo Garcia, Mark Sturdy, António Neto Alves, Marc Skobac, Gavin Roberts, Tom Z, Chris Van Tuyll, Ron Fritts, Kees van Hulst, Alex Locchi, Ryan Walsh, Andrew Russ. by Olivier Landemaine last modified: May 24, 2026 ©1996-2026 The Velvet Underground Web Page


	April 8, 1965 The East End Theatre, New York, New York 85 E 4th St, New York, NY 10003 Google Maps The Launching of the Dream Weapon As told by Sterling Morrison in Up-tight – The Velvet Underground Story (p. 20).In fact, the quote comes from the article “Going Back in Time to Piero Heliczer” by Sterling Morrison, published in 1979 in issue 9 of the magazine “Little Caesar”. Sterling Morrison: "On an early Spring day in 1965 John and I were strolling through the East-side slums and ran into Angus on the corner of Essex and Delancey. Angus said, 'Let's go over to Piero's', and we agreed. It seems that Piero and Angus were organizing a 'ritual happening' at the time – a mixed-media stage presentation to appear in the old Cinematheque. Naturally, this was well before such events became all the rage. It was to be entitled "Launching the Dream Weapon", and it got launched tumultuously. In the center of the stage there was a movie screen, and between the screen and the audience a number of veils were spread out in different places. these veils were lit variously by lights and slide projectors, as Piero's films shone through them onto screen. Dancers swirled around, and poetry and song occasionally rose up, while from behind the screen a strange music was being generated by Lou, John, Angus and me." Up-Tight – The Velvet Underground Story, Omnibus Press, 1983 (p. 20) Ad: in The Village Voice, April 8,1965 (page 21). AMERICA THEATRE FOR POETS, INC. (...) THURSDAY APRIL 8 AT 9 PM READING ANGUS MAC LISE & PIERO HELICZER THE LAUNCHING OF THE DREAMWEAPON ALL AT THE EAST END THEATRE 85 EAST 4 ST. (OFF 2ND AVE) TICKETS $2.00 $1.00 OR 3-3377

	May 28, 1965 The Cinematheque, New York, New York 85 E 4th St, New York, NY 10003 Google Maps Rites of the Dreamweapon Flyer: 9.5 x 12 in. "RITES OF THE DREAMWEAPON \| a massed perfoRMANCE \| immense Spectacle \| dark rituals of the N.Y. Underground \| MUSICIANS, Dancers, STILTWALKERS \| & troupe of lunar companions MAY 28 - 10 P.M. \| UNTIL DAWN at the CINEMATHEQUE \| 85 E. 4th St." "A collaborative artistic venture from then-couple Angus MacLise and Francis Stillman, this flyer promotes the event hosted by the Film-Makers' Cinematheque on May 28, 1965. "Rites of the Dreamweapon" was a seven-part "Manifestation of the Presence" coordinated by Angus MacLise, former (first) drummer for the Velvet Underground, which made its festival debut in November of the same year." [flyer description at Paddle8 auction house]

	Spring 1965 Café Wha, New York, New York John Cale: "I got Electra to join the Falling Spikes. We played several gigs with her, including a couple at Café Wha." What's Welsh For Zen – The Autobiography of John Cale (p. 76)

	August 11, 1965 Broadway Central Hotel, New York, New York 673 Broadway, New York, NY 10012 Google Maps \| Wikipedia New York Underground Handbill: calligraphy by Angus MacLise. The program is for an eight-hour spectacle including music by The Falling Spikes — an early incarnation of the band before they changed their name to The Velvet Underground. Reproduced in the Angus MacLise \| Dreamweapon catalog (p. 16). August 11, 1965. The notes at the end of the catalog (p. 118) state that Andy Warhol also screened films at this event (also on the flyer). This occured several months before his official “first meeting” with the band. However, there is no evidence that Andy Warhol and the members of what was not yet called the Velvet Underground actually crossed paths at this event. John (Jack) Anderson: "We used to play at benefits with a group called the Falling Spikes, and together we'd called the Transcendental Simulematic Orchestra: we'd play the background music for underground movies and light shows on dancing people, which was all starting at that time. The Falling Spikes eventually became the musicians for Andy Warhol's group, the Velvet Underground." Mr. Fug joins long-range patrol by Jeff Pollock The New Journal, February 9, 1969 (p. 13) Sterling Morrison: "Those [band names] were jokes. We would call ourselves one thing one night and another thing another. Whoever would show up played. Earlier, when Lou and I were at Syracuse, we would change our name at least once a week. We were playing for fraternities, and they wanted Top Ten music. We didn't know any; all we knew was Jimmy Reed songs and all that. Then the word began to get out, "Don't hire these turkeys." So we would change our name again. Before they knew it, it was too late. L.A. and the Eldorados, Pasha and the Prophets, Moses and His Brothers–it was outrageous." Up From The Underground, Sterling Morrison intervew by Bill Bentley Austin Sun, October 19, 1975

	November 1, 1965 Filmmakers' Cinematheque, New York, New York 434 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10003 Google Maps New Cinema Festival I – Opening Night Rites of the Dream Weapon – I – "The Tremor Rite" Ad: in The Village Voice, October 28, 1965 (p. 28). "NEW CINEMA FESTIVAL I \| Mon Nov. 1 8 pm $2 \| RITES OF THE DREAMWEAPON \| ANGUS MACLISE: THE TREMOR RITE \| Part 1 of a seven part manifestation of the presence." Placard: 18 x 8 inch placard printed in thick blue ink on blue stock (see picture at November 5, 1965 entry). Program notes: for New Cinema Festival I. Rites of the Dreamweapon is a seven-part "Manifestation of the Presence" coordinated by Angus MacLise. Reproduced in Angus MacLise \| Dreamweapon catalog (p. 20). Program: for opening night "Rites of the Dreamweapon I \| The Tremor Rite". Mentions "Music by: The Velvet Underground" (John Cale, Lew Reed, Sterling Morrison, Angus MacLise). Reproduced in Angus MacLise \| Dreamweapon catalog (p. 23). Sterling: "The antecedent of that [Exploding Plastic Inevitable] was done in the old Cinematheque – all done by film people – things which Angus called ritual happenings. "Rites of the Dream Weapon" did you ever see a poster for that? Yes, that was the first one. Before Ken Kesey or anybody. Angus had seen lots of Dervish dancing while he was in India. He had been there for eight years and he came back with his raga scales and assortment of drums and so we used to put on these things and they had films. Piero Heliczer was involved in that." Fusion No. 28, March 6, 1970

	November 5, 1965 Filmmakers' Cinematheque, New York, New York 434 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10003 Google Maps New Cinema Festival I Rites of the Dream Weapon – III – "The Mysteries of the Essence Chamber" Ad: in The Village Voice, November 4, 1965 (p. 22). (...) III: The Mysteries Of The Essence Chamber \| Angus MacLise (...)" Program: for "MYSTERIES OF THE ESSENCE CHAMBER \| A metaphysical variety show, being part III of: \| RITES OF THE DREAMWEAPON". Mentions "I: HER SACRED QUANDRY --- being random movements to the sounds of "The Velvet Underground", also "MUSICIANS: Jerry Jennings and The Velvet Underground: Lew Reed, Sterling Morrison, John Cale, Angus Maclise." Review: *Festival I* The New Yorker, December 4, 1965 (pages 52-53) The Film-Makers' Cinematheque, a society of avant-garde film-makers, with headquarters at the Astor Place Playhouse, devoted last month to something called the New Cinema Festival I, which was described in a prospectus as "a survey of recent experiments to expand the dimensions of cinema" through the use of "multiple screens, multiple projectors, multiple images, inter-related screen forms and images, film-dance, moving slides, kinetic sculptures, handheld projectors, balloon screens, video tape and video projections, light and sound experiments." We have always had a weakness for ambitious prospectuses, so when we read this one we headed for the Astor Place Playhouse to take in a representative sample of Festival programs. We came away convinced that the Cinematheque is fulfilling all its promises, and then some. The Playhouse is in the basement of 434 Lafayette Street, which was constructed in 1831 and was occupied by both John Jacob Astor and Washington Irving. The Cinematheque, by contrast, was founded only in 1963, and already it has had six homes and is planning another move, according to John Brockman, its new managing director. Mr. Brockman is a clean-shaven, wellscrubbed man of twenty-four who graduated from the Babson Institute in 1961 and took an M.B.A. in finance at Columbia Business School in 1963; his taste in clothes runs to dark threepiece suits, white shirts, and muted ties, and makes him easy to find in the lobby of the Playhouse, where most of the patrons dress just about the way struggling film-makers might be expected to dress. "We've signed a year's lease on the 41st Street Theatre, which is between Sixth Avenue and Broadway," Mr. Brockman told us. "All this moving around has got to stop. I took this job to bring some sanity to the experimental-film world. The Cinematheque has been too inefficient, too incestuous up to now. Which doesn't mean it hasn't had a great impact. This is a festival that wouldn't have been possible five years ago. Everybody knew what a film was then. Not anymore. We've invited people from all the creative arts. We're trying to break down people's ideas of what film is. Film doesn't have to be movies. We don't define it at all, except as 'a visual experience.'" We understood Mr. Brockman's difficulties with definition when we saw our first program, which turned out to be Part III of a week-long presentation entitled "Rites of the Dreamweapon" and "coordinated" by Angus MacLise. Part III, "The Mysteries of the Essence Chamber," was set on a stage that resembled the inside of a bombedout church being used for a rummage sale. An assemblage of objects, dimly lit by a revolving red-and-green beacon, was separated from the audience by a gauzy, see-through screen, on which two movie projectors were trained. One projector had no film in it, and the other had a short loop of film and kept repeating a few unrecognizable images. The operators of the machines occasionally held colored filters in front of the lenses; sometimes they swivelled the machines around the room, so that the light from them shone briefly on the ceiling and walls. The effect that we found most pleasing was a tattoo of brown spots beamed, possibly by accident, onto the neck of a man sitting in front of us. While the projectors were going their own way, a number of people walked or danced around the stage, accompanied at times by a group of musicians known as The Velvet Underground, who specialize in "mystical rock-'n'-roll" - a form of music that, they have explained, is attained primarily through the use of "amplified distortion." Later, Angus MacLise, a tall, ascetic-looking man of twentyseven with a wispy brown beard, recited some of his poetry. During most of the performance, the noise level - abetted by a demonnically programmed tape recorder - was literally deafening, yet no one left the theatre except a young couple in tlie front row who seemed to be having a private argument. After the program, we went backstage to ask the coordinator if he was satisfied with the evening. Mr.MacLise said that several people had told him they found the experience painful, but that he thought this could be attributed to tension caused by an inability to participate directly in the proceedings. "What I'm trying to do is blend as many elements of existence in our time as possible with the whole stream of ritual motifs developed through history," he explained. "For me, the rock-'n'-roll dancer is an archetypal figure. The fashion model is an archetypal figure." He went on to say that much of his work had been influenced by his travels - especially a recent hitchhiking trip from Istanbul to Benares. He arrived in Benares in time for the Festival of the Great Goddess and, in the courtyard of a Brahman house, saw a celebration in which an attempt was made to "overload the senses" with a barrage of noise and motion. "The theory is that the senses have to be got beyond, because they stand in the way of contact with ourselves," he said. "It's the opposite path to meditation. Only when we batter down the threshold can we hear other things, including the proverbial still small voice within." When our own senses had returned to normal, we paid another visit to the Festival and saw a performance of "The March of the Garter Snakes," by Standish D. Lawder.

	November 10, 1965 Filmmakers Cinematheque, New York, New York 434 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10003 Google Maps Expanded Cinema Festival - The Last Rites Program: reproduced in Pop Goes Art \| Andy Warhol & Velvet Underground (p. 10). Mentions Angus MacLise as first cembalum and John Cale as first viola. Review: Movie Journals by Jonas Mekas (as they appeared in The Village Voice), in Film Culture - Expanded Arts, number 43, Winter 1966. November 18, 1965 article includes a review of The Last Rites at the Filmmakers Cinematheque. Reproduced in Pop Goes Art exhibition box.

	November 1965 New York, New York 450 Grand St, New York, NY 10002 Google Maps The Making of an Underground Film This is a TV report about the underground film scene in New York. Part of the documentary was filmed on the set of Piero Heliczer’s movie Venus In Furs. It features Angus MacLise on percussion, John Cale on viola, Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison on guitars, Moe Tucker on tambourine, Robert J. Richkin on bass, and Piero Heliczer joining the band on saxophone, presumably to perform “Heroin.” The event is recounted in detail by Sterling Morrison in his essay “Going Back in Time to Piero Heliczer,” published in issue 9 of the journal Little Caesar (Dennis Cooper, Los Angeles, 1979). TV: The TV report aired on Walter Cronkite's CBS News program on December 31, 1965. Since then, excerpts have been used in several documentaries about the Velvet Underground. Photos: by Adam Ritchie, available in: Les Inrockuptibles Hors Série \| The Velvet Underground (p. 62-63). White Light/White Heat \| The Velvet Underground Day-By-Day book (1 b&w photo, p. 62-63). The Velvet Underground \| New York Art (p. 20, 21, 22-23, 26, 27, 28, 29). The Velvet Underground \| An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 30-31, 32-33). MOJO magazine, 193, December 2009 (p. 118). UNCUT magazine, Take 151, December 2009 (p. 48-49, 51). The Velvet Underground & Nico \| 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition 6CD (2 photos, p. 8) les inRocKs 2 \| The Velvet Underground, March 2016 (1 photo, p. 4-5) see also Adam Ritchie Photography website. Adam Ritchie: "I was sitting at home in 277 East 10th St, and the phone rang and it was a friend of mine called Barbara Rubin, who was an underground film maker who I’d met around the place. And she said: “I’m in a film, making a film right now with Piero Heliczer, his film, and there’s some music here that is fantastic”. And I said I’d be there in about six minutes. And I was there in seven minutes. It wasn’t very far from where it was. And going up the stairs of the tenement block I could hear this music and they were playing “Heroin” and it was just… It went right through me. I thought it was fabulous music. And I went up into this small apartment, very ordinary apartment, rather like mine, and there were these musicians with painted bodies and stuff and Barbara was playing a nun, fully dressed as a nun, and there was a bloke who looked like a gangster and the Velvets were there with body painting and there was a CBS news photographer and a sidekick photographing it with a movie camera." Tales of Hoppy (1) it INTERNATIONAL TIMES The Magazine of Resistance, July 22, 2016

	December 11, 1965 Summit High School Auditorium, Summit, New Jersey 125 Kent Pl Blvd, Summit, NJ 07901 Google Maps This is the first show with the name "The Velvet Underground" and with Maureen Tucker. It was a triple bill with The Myddle Class as headliners and The Forty Fingers as co-support. This opening was offered by the legendary journalist Al Aronowitz who was also The Myddle Class manager. Announcement: "Musicians Plan Tour" in The Courrier-News, Bridgewater NJ, Monday, November 29, 1965 (page 31). "(...) Also on the program will be The Velvet Underground, four Greenwich Village artists who play an avant-garde type od folk-rock (...)". Mailer: double-sided 8.5 x 11 inch. Xerox reproduced in What Goes On #5 fanzine; in All Yesterdays' Parties \| The Velvet Underground In Print 1966-1971 book (p. XXXVI); in The Velvet Underground \| An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 34); in The Velvet Underground \| New York Art (p. 34). Setlist: There She Goes Again, Venus In Furs, Heroin. Tape: by Al Aronowitz on a Wollensack tape recorder. Al Aronowitz: "What was happening is that I'm taping the concert on my brand, new Wollensack tape recorder, with which the Velvets simply walk away. Someone tells me he saw them pack it up with their equipment. It doesn't take me very long to discover that that the Velvets are a bunch of speed-freaks and junkies. Heroin not only is their favorite song, it's their favorite thing." The origins of The Velvet Underground The Blacklisted Journalist, Column Eighty, December 1, 2002 Film : by Barbara Rubin, no audio. "There is also a film of The Velvet Underground’s first concert appearance, which took place at Summit High School on Dec. 11, 1965. Aronowitz was managing the band at the time, and organized the show, which was headlined by Jersey garage-rock band The Myddle Class, whom Aronowitz managed as well. There is no audio to it, Myles Aronowitz says, but there is some footage of The Velvet Underground. He adds that the film was made by Barbara Rubin, who died in 1980; he describes her as “an experimental filmmaker and close friend of the family. “It’s an art film kind of thing, but it’s great. Most of it is The Myddle Class. But it’s double- and triple-exposed film. You know, a lot of those minutes are overlapping. Some of the fun stuff is, after the concert, there’s sort of this gathering backstage, with people milling about. It’s pretty great. Carole King and Gerry Goffin were partners with my father for The Myddle Class” — the husband-and-wife songwriting team wrote music for the band, and produced their singles — “and they were there, at the concert. They’re featured in this footage, too, as all the musicians are.”" Al Aronowitz’s back pages: Bob Dylan artifacts owned by legendary rock journalist are up for auction by Jay Lustig NJArts.net, January 16, 2025 "Highlights include the earliest known film footage of the Velvet Underground, a band Aronowitz originally managed." Stanford acquires an unseen piece of Beat Generation history Stanford Report, August 11, 2025 Reviews: *Myddle Class Wins Raves At Premiere* Peter Suydam Echoes Sentinel, Warren Township NJ, December 1965 "(...) The most controversial group of the evening was a Greenwich Village quartet known as the "Velvet Underground." The group's repertoire consisted basically of provocative songs about dope and dope addicts. What made for the controversy, in addition to the fact the group's amplifiers were turned up too high, was that the Underground used an amplified violin. The instrument loudly played one or two notes, usually at a slow tempo, then working up to a faster time, to heighten the drama of a number. The result was that it sounded as if there was a bagpipe in the hall. After about ten minutes of this jazz, several members of the audience got up and left. Some said the sound was ear piercing, some said they just wanted to bring on the "Myddle Class" quicker, among reasons for walking out. But a good percentage of the kids thought it was "groovy! (...)" The band was featured twice in the same newspaper. Pop writer Suzie Surfer offered this opinion of the group: "(...) The "Class" was spectacular and really put on a swingin' concert. But let's keep the "Velvet Underground" in the Village, where they belong. (...)" The December 30, 1965, issue published a message from fans who were unhappy with Suzie Surfer's coverage of the band. "Here's a message thought you'd enjoy. It's from "Some 'Velvet Underground' Fans". "You're entitled to your own opinion but just because you dislike a group, you don't have to be so sarcastic and put them down. We're referring to your statement concerning "The Velvet Underground" who appeared recently with the "Myddle Class". You must like only the groups that are carbon copies of others. That's your business. But if a group dares to be original and different from the others don't sound off against them until you learn to understand their music a little better. If the "Velvet Underground" want to go back to the Village, they will without you having to tell them so. Our only answer to that is: Why don't you stick to your surfboard, Suzie. You're no music critic!" I stand corrected—I'm no music critic. But, boy, you fans are sure right, I didn't under- stand the Velvets sound. And stickin' to my surfboard is a lot more fun than hearing about heroin and dope addicts. Better start thinkin' about your 1966 resolutions NOW! Should be a good year. Live it up New Year's Eve !! You've got a year to live it down! HAPPY, HAPPY NEW YEAR, SWINGERS!" I Was A Velveteen Rob Norris Kicks magazine, #1, 1979 (page 52) "(...) Nothing could have prepared the kids and parents assembled in the auditorium for what they were about to experience that night. Our only clue was the small crowd of strange-looking people hanging around in front of the stage. When the curtain went up, nobody could believe their eyes! There stood the Velvet Underground-- all tall and dressed mostly in black; two of them were wearing sunglasses. One of the guys with the shades had VERY long hair and was wearing silver jewelry. He was holding a large violin. The drummer had a Beatle haircut and was standing at a small oddly arranged drum kit. Was it a boy or a girl? Before we could take it all in, evryone was hit by a screeeching surge of sound, with a pounding beat louder than anything we had ever heard. About a minute into the second song, which the singer had introduced as "Heroin", the music began to get even more intense. It swelled and accelerated like a giant tidal wave which was threatening to engulf us all. At this point, most of the audience retreated in horror for the safety of their homes, thoroughly convinced of the dangers of rock & roll music. My friends and I moved a little closer to the stage, knowing that something special was happening. (...)" Sterling: "At Summit we opened with "There She Goes Again", then played "Venus In Furs", and ended with "Heroin". The murmur of surprise that greeted our appearance as the curtain went up increased to a roar of disbelief once we started to play "Venus", and swelled to a mighty howl of outrage and bewilderment by the end of "Heroin". Al Aronowitz observed that we seemed to have an oddly stimulating and polarizing effect on audiences." Up-Tight \| The Velvet Underground Story, 1983 (p. 20) Sterling: "In November we got offered a gig at a high school in Summit, New Jersey. It was $75 for playing three songs in the auditorium. Angus quit – he didn't wanna get paid for playing." The Exploding Plastic Interview by Christian Fevret NME, 6 October 1990, p. 23 Sterling: "On November 11 we played at Summit, it was our first gig with Maureen. We played 'There She Goes Again', 'Venus In Furs' and 'Heroin' - and half the people walked out." The Exploding Plastic Interview by Christian Fevret NME, 6 October 1990, p. 23

	Late December 1965 Café Bizarre, New York, New York 106 W 3rd St, New York, NY 10012 Google Maps Residency gig acquired by Al Aronowitz. The group meets Andy Warhol via Barbara Rubin. Sterling: "Andy heard us once, probably by accident, at the Cafe Bizarre. I remember Gerard Malanga had come there with a whip; he was probably on his way to the Factory for a movie. Anyway he was on the dance floor swinging this huge whip around. I was thinking, "Who is this lunatic?" It turned out to be Gerard." Up From The Underground by Bill Bentley The Texas Sun, October 30, 1975, p. 13 Sterling: "One night [at the Café Bizarre] we played 'The Black Angel's Death Song' and the owner came up and said, 'if you play that song one more time, you're fired.' So we started the next set with it – the all-time version – and got fired." The Lost History of The Velvet Underground by Mary Harron New Musical Express, April 26, 1981, p. 28 Sterling: "We tried to get gigs in the Village that summer. It was supposed to be the avant-garde there – but the clubs didn't want us. But finally we got six nights a week at the Cafe Bizarre, some ungodly number of sets, 40 minutes on and 20 minutes off. We played some covers – 'Little Queenie', 'Bright Lights Big City'... the black R&B songs Lou and I liked – and many of our songs as we had." The Exploding Plastic Interview by Christian Fevret NME, 6 October 1990, p. 23 Sterling: "At Christmas 1965 we were told we had to work New Year's Eve at the Cafe Bizarre, but we didn't want to, so we had to figured out a way to get fired. Around December 30, after a set, the lady who owned the cafe came up and said that if we played 'Black Angel's Death Song' one more time we were fired. So we led off the next set with it. A really good version too..." The Exploding Plastic Interview by Christian Fevret NME, 6 October 1990, p. 23 John: "Gerard Malanga came to the Café Bizarre to see us play. I caught a whiff of him dancing towards us. He said, 'Let me see this band.' Then he said 'Hey, Andy's looking for this, that and the other.' Barbara Rubin brought him down. She knew about us from Piero Heliczer. Sterling, Piero and I were sharing an apartment on Grand Street." The Velvet Years \| Photographs by Stephen Shore, Thunder's Mouth Press, 1995, p. 63 Moe: "I remember playing at the Café Bizarre when he [Andy Warhol] first came to see us. I remember that night. It was exciting. Of course, we all knew who he was. And wow, you know, my first celibrity. I really doubt very much if he had to think about it all, because we were just what he was looking for." The Velvet Years \| Photographs by Stephen Shore, Thunder's Mouth Press, 1995, p. 72 Gerard Malanga: "Barbara [Rubin] was not someone you said "no" to. She had a way about her. Maybe it was her swagger, her demeanor; but I gotta say, most times she was right. And this time she was right when she arrived at the Factory one afternoon to find me all alone and said to me, that she had this rock band she wanted me to hear, and she meant "Now!" And so we hightailed it to the subway and arrived in time at the Cafe Bizarre where shortly the Velvet Underground would be performing. They were still tuning up and going over their playlist. There were several tables chairs lined up along the periphery. Lots of young people lounging around, I surmised. And when the group as gruffy as they were, started playing, Barbara nudged me on to get up and start dancing. She knew I loved to dance. I was hesitant at first; I felt I'd only be in their way. You see, there was no stage separating them from the dance floor; but Barbara insisted, stating that they wouldn't even notice me. So I got up and started going through my routine solo, and at one point I undid the whip I had wrapped around my belt and danced with it just as the Velvets began their song, "Venus in Furs" which I knew nothing about. How synchronous was that?! And everyone got up from their chairs and started dancing also, like it was a frenzy of some sort. During the intermission, Lou and John came up to me and said it was amazing. They kept saying no one was dancing to the music and they wanted that to happen desperately and invited me back anytime... and so it happened." Gerard Malanga Official \| Gerard Malanga In Search of the Miraculous \| April 14, 2021 an interview about making movies with Gerard Malanga by Lisa Marie Järlborn, editor_in_chief/publisher of the Love Love Magazine Photos: by Adam Ritchie, available in: The Velvet Underground & Nico - Deluxe Edition CD booklet (1 b&w photo, p. 2). Les Inrockuptibles Hors série \| The Velvet Underground, June 2002 (1 color + 2 b&w photos, p. 27, 52, 53). MOJO 124, March 2004 (1 full-page color photo, p. 64 + 1 small b&w, p. 70). c/o The Velvet Underground catalogue (2 b&w photos, p. 8, 20-21). White Light/White Heat - The Velvet Underground Day-By-Day book (1 b&w photo, p. 2, 63). Lou Reed - Les Coffrets Cultes (1 b&w 240x280 mm photo on 300 gram coated paper). The Velvet Underground - An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 36, 38, 39). The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 4-5, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42). UNCUT magazine, Take 151, December 2009 (p. 56). The Velvet Underground & Nico \| 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition 6CD (p. 10, 11, 12). les inRocKs 2 \| The Velvet Underground, March 2016 (1 full-page color photo, p. 13) see also Adam Ritchie Photography website. There is a photo of the exterior of Cafe Bizarre, taken by Fred W. McDarrah on June 7, 1959, and published in the book New York Scenes (Abrams Books, 2018, page 49). Another similar photograph, taken at night on November 14, 1959, is available in the Bettman Archive. The Cafe Bizare, 106 West Third St., June 7, 1969. The club was a crossroads for Beat writers and jazz musicians. The headliner the night it opened in 1957 was singer and civil rights activist Odetta. Others who played there included the Velvet Underground (Andy Warhol first saw them there), the Gerry Mulligan Quartet, George Shearing, and Charlie Parker. Beats including Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, and Diane di Prima were regulars. Fred W. McDarrah \| New York Scenes, Abrams Books, 2018, page 49 There is also a photo by Billy Name in the booklet of the special "Velvet" edition of Songs for Drella. It is credited as being taken at Cafe Bizarre in November 1965. However, in an interview at the Warhol exhibition in France in 1990, Maureen Tucker and Sterling Morrison discuss a photo purporting to show the Velvet Underground at Café Bizarre. She says that the photo could not have been taken at the Bizarre because it shows her behind a drum kit, which she says she was not allowed to play at the Bizarre. (She had to play the tambourine.) The photo was actually taken on April 11, 1967, at the Cheetah in New York City.
Home Thanks: Gordon Lyon & Aral Sezen, Callie Angell, Steve Nelson, Tom, Esther Robinson, Michael Prosser, Alfredo Garcia, Mark Sturdy, António Neto Alves, Marc Skobac, Gavin Roberts, Tom Z, Chris Van Tuyll, Ron Fritts, Kees van Hulst, Alex Locchi, Ryan Walsh, Andrew Russ. by Olivier Landemaine last modified: May 24, 2026 ©1996-2026 The Velvet Underground Web Page