Early Spring 1965
Filmmakers' Cinematheque, New York, New York

Launching the Dream Weapon

As told by Sterling Morrison in Up-tight | The Velvet Underground Story (p. 20).

Sterling Morrison: "On an early Spring day in 1965 John and I were strolling through the East-side slums an 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 become all the rage. It was to be entitled "Launching the Dream Weapon", and it got launch 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 veilswere 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."
[in Up-Tight | The Velvet Underground Story (p. 20)]

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 sevral gigs with her, including a couple at Café Wha."
[in 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. Program for an 8-hour spectacle including music by The Falling Spikes - an early incarnation of the band before they changed their name into The Velvet Underground. Reproduced in Angus MacLise | Dreamweapon catalog (p. 16). August 11, 1965. The notes in the back of the catalog (p. 118) mention that Andy Warhol also showed films at this event (also on the flier), several months before his official “first meeting” with the band. There is no evidence that Andy’s time at the event may not have overlapped with the Falling Spikes performance.

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 lot 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."
[in 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."

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

Making of Piero Heliczer's Venus In Furs movie, featuring Cale, Morrison and Reed playing Heroin, with Heliczer joining in on saxophone! This sound portion was used for the film.

Film: for CBS News Walter Cronkite's show, broadcasted late December 1965. Short excerpts are available in Dancing In The Streets #9.

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.

December 11, 1965
Summit High School Auditorium, Summit, New Jersey

125 Kent Pl Blvd, Summit, NJ 07901
Google Maps

First show with the name "The Velvet Underground" and with Maureen Tucker. 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.

Setlist: There She Goes Again, Venus In Furs, Heroin.

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).

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."

Review: in I Was A Velveteen by Rob Norris in Kicks magazine.

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." (1983)

Sterling: "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." (Jun. 1990)

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.

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 also a photo by Billy Name, available in the special 'velvet' edition of Songs for Drella, where it's credited to "Cafe Bizarre, November 1965". However, in an interview given by Maureen Tucker and Sterling Morrison at the Warhol exhibition in France in 1990, Moe discusses a photograph that supposedly shows the Velvets at the Cafe Bizarre. She says that this photograph could not have been from the Bizarre because the photo shows her behind a drum kit and she states that she was not allowed to play the drums at the Bizarre... (she had to play a tambourine). Actually the photo was shot on April 11, 1967 at Cheetah in New York, NY.

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. (Jun. 1990)

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. (Apr. 1981)

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... (Jun. 1990)

January 3, 1966
The Factory, New York, New York

231 E 47th St, New York, NY 10017
Google Maps | Wikipedia

Factory rehearsals

Tape: recorded by Andy Warhol just a week after the German actress Nico had arrived in America. This tape features what may have been the first musical collaboration between her and the Velvet Underground. The tapes feature many casual moments of unstructured jamming common to rock band rehearsals. Most of this material falls in line with what can be assumed to be influences of the key members; Older Blues, R&B, Rockabilly etc. However, there is one time on the tapes when either Lou Reed or Sterling Morrison can be heard playing the lead intro to "Day Tripper" by the Beatles. While this may seem like a standard today, it was a 4 month old song when the tape was made. On Track two, Lou Reed can be heard teaching lyrics to Nico while the rest of the band plays in the background. The lyrics are to the song "Venus In Furs." Track 11 features the whole band with Nico attempting to sing the song "There She Goes Again." They try several times to find a key that suits Nico's voice. Nico tries many times to vocalize lyrics that prove to be too fast for her broken English to master. These problems evidently were never solved, as the song appears on the first album with Lou Reed singing lead - not Nico.

Sources: All Tomorrow's Parties: Remembering the Velvet Underground CD (3-9, 12, 14-16), At Andy Warhol Museum CD (4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 14-16), At The Factory - Warhol Tapes CD (3-9, 12, 14-16), Dispatches From The Dream Factory 3-CD Disc 1 (3, 8, 12, 15, 16), In 1966 There Was... 2-LP (3-9, 12, 14-16), The Velvet Underground & Nico 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition 6CD (3, 5, 8, 12, 15, 16), , The Velvet Underground & Nico 45th Anniversary Deluxe Edition 2CD (3, 5, 8, 12, 15, 16).

1. All Tomorrow's Parties
2. Men of Good Fortune
3. Walk Alone (3:28)
4. Buddy Holly jam (1:15)
5. Venus in Furs/Crackin' Up (3:50)
6. Blues jam (5:15)
7. R & B jam (2:22)
8. Run Run Run intro into Miss Joanie Lee (11:48)
9. Day Tripper into Boom Boom Boom Boom (6:18)
10. European Son
11. Venus in Furs
12. Heroin (6:10)
13. Prominent Men
14. Green Onions (5:57)
15. There She Goes Again (Lou Reed vocal) (3:29)
16. There She Goes Again (Nico vocal) (4:18)

The same day Andy Warhol and The Velvet Underground ("Warhol's jazz group") appear at the Roosevelt Raceway track opening in Westbury, Long Island as stated in Play's the Thing as Patrons Leave Transit Strike Cares at the $2 Window by Gerald Eskenazi in The New York Times, January 3, 1966 (p. 22).

January 13, 1966
Delmonico Hotel, New York, New York

502 Park Ave, New York, NY 10022
Google Maps

Annual Dinner of the New York Society for Clinical Psychiatry

First public appearance with Nico.

Film: as part of Scenes From The Life Of Andy Warhol by Jonas Mekas. The soundtrack has the Velvet Underground recorded live at The Dom, Spring 1966 (see below).

Reviews:

• Syndromes Pop At Delmonico's
  by Grace Gluek, in The New York Times, January 14, 1966.
  Reprinted in All Yesterdays' Parties | The Velvet Underground In Print 1966-1971 book (p. 3-5). Reproduced in The Velvet Underground | New York Art (p. 58); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (2 versions, p. 8).
• Andy Warhol's 'Velvet Underground': Shock Treatment for Psychiatrists
  by Seymour Krim, in New York Herald Tribune, January 14, 1966 (p. 27).
  Reproduced in The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 58); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 9).
• Psychiatrists Need Couch Session After Exposure to Andy Warhol
  from New York Times News Service in Utica New York Observer, January 14, 1966.
  Same article as in The New York Times, with additional quote by Dr. Arthur Zitrin: "I'm program chairman for our next year's dinner. How the hell are we going to follow this act?"
• Newsmakers: Shock Treatment
  in Newsweek, Vol. 67, No. 4, January 24, 1966 (p. 51).
  Reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 10).
• Andy's Art To Docs
  by Grace Gluek, in Kansas City Star, January 30, 1966.
  edited version of Syndrome Pop At Delmonico's article (New York Times News Service).

Photos: by Adam Ritchie, available in:

• The Velvet Underground & Nico - Deluxe Edition CD booklet (3 b&w photos, p. 5).
• Les Inrockuptibles Hors série The Velvet Underground, June 2002 (5 color photos, p. 8-12, 28).
• MOJO 124, March 2004 (1 b&w photo, p. 73).
• C/o The Velvet Underground catalogue (2 color photos, p. 72-73).
• Dispatches From The Dream Factory 3CD booklet (1 color photo, p. 13).
• White Light/White Heat - The Velvet Underground Day-By-Day book (3 b&w photos, p. 73, 74, 75).
• The Velvet Underground - An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 46, 47).
• The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57).
• UNCUT magazine, Take 151, December 2009 (p. 55, 57).
• UNCUT magazine, Take 186, November 2012 (p. 89).
• Rock & Folk magazine, 543, November 2012 (1 small b&w insert p. 5, 1 color full-page p. 45).
• The Velvet Underground & Nico | 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition 6CD (p. 16, 17, 18, 19)
• see also Adam Ritchie Photography website.

Lou Reed: "That was in 1966. It was a psychiatric convention or something. For some reason they'd asked Warhol to be there and Andy took us. So yeah, this all took place. It was hilarious. They had a sense of humour too, up to a point. But we were all interviewing them and asking them psychiatric questions. It was just a big joke."
[in Lou Reed | Cash For Question by Tom Doyle, in Q 164, May 2000]

January 1966
The Factory, New York, New York

231 E 47th St, New York, NY 10017
Google Maps | Wikipedia

TV: USA Artists: Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein TV show, on WNET-TV (channel 13), broadcasted on February 7, 1966. Features interview with Andy Warhol who introduces the Velvet Underground, and rehearsals footage.

Sources:

• 1:08 of footage, re-edited by Jed Parker with Venus In Furs as soundtrack, available as bonus to Lou Reed - Rock & Roll Heart DVD.
• complete Andy Warhol chapter (17:03, Heroin is about 45 seconds truncated however, as compared with audio recording), officially available as video stream at video thirteen.

Audio: from TV. Sources: What Goes On 3-CD (1), Searchin' For My Mainline 3-LP and 3-CD (1-3), A Symphony Of Sound 2-LP (1-3), Ultra Rare Trax Vol. 3 CD (1-3), Caught Between The Twisted Stars 4-CD (2, 3), In 1966 There Was... 2-LP (1).

1. Andy Warhol says (0:58)
2. [cut] Venus In Furs (1:48)
3. Heroin [cut] (1:56)

February 6, 1966
Filmmakers' Cinematheque, New York, New York

125 W 41st St, New York, NY 10036
Google Maps

Audio: from Andy Warhol's tapes. Sources: All Tomorrow's Parties: Remembering the Velvet Underground CD (2-4), At Andy Warhol Museum CD (2-4), At The Factory - Warhol Tapes CD (2-4), Dispatches From The Dream Factory 3-CD Disc 1 (3-4), In 1966 There Was... 2-LP (2-4) .

1. Venus in Furs
2. Heroin (4:12)
3. I'll Keep It With Mine (3:33)
4. European Son / Suzie Q (4:10)

February 8-13, 1966
Filmmakers' Cinematheque, New York, New York

125 W 41st St, New York, NY 10036
Google Maps

Andy Warhol, Up-tight

Flyer: offset lithograph on paper, 8½ x 11" (21.9 x 27.9 cm). 1000 sent. Reproduced in Up-Tight - The Velvet Underground Story (p. 6); in c/o The Velvet Underground catalogue (p. 54 & 55); in Warhol Live catalogue (p. 150, cat. 60); in The Velvet Underground - An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 48); in The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 59).

Ads:

• in The Village Voice, probably February 3, 1966.
  Reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 11).
• in The New York Times, February 9, 1966 (p. 34).
• in The Village Voice, February 10, 1966.
  Reproduced in Dispatches From The Dream Factory 3CD booklet (p. 5); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 13); in The Velvet Underground & Nico | 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition 6CD (p. 20).
• in The Village Voice, February 10, 1966.
  Reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 14).

Audio: recorded by Andy Warhol (see above, Feb. 6 entry). Includes Venus in Furs, Heroin, European Son, and others (unfortunately not listed). This tape was dated "February 6" but it's probably a mistake since the flyer advertise for a February 8-13 engagement. Source: All Tomorrow's Parties: Remembering the Velvet Underground CD, At The Factory - Warhol Tapes CD.

Reviews:

• in Up-tight - The Velvet Underground Story book (p. 6-8).
• Andy Warhol's 'More Milk, Yvette' Bows
  by Bosley Crowther in The New York Times, February 9, 1966 (p. 32)
  Reprinted in All Yesterdays' Parties - The Velvet Underground In Print 1966-1971 book (p. 6-7). Reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 12).
• Andy Warhol at Cinematheque
  by Archer Winsten in New York Post, February 9, 1966 (p.55)
  reproduced in c/o The Velvet Underground catalogue (p. 12); in The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 66); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 12).
• The Worst Is Yet to Come
  by George English in Fire Island News, June 4, 1966 (p. 2).

Photos:

• Fred W. McDarrah: in Up-tight - The Velvet Underground Story (1 b&w photo, p. 10); in MOJO 63, February 1999 (2 b&w photos, p. 55 & 60); in The Velvet Underground - An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 48); in Lou Reed - Les Coffrets Cultes (1 b&w 240x280 mm photo on 300 gram coated paper).
• Adam Ritchie: in Les Inrockuptibles no.344, June 26-July 2, 2002 (1 b&w photo, p. 47); same photo in Les Inrocks 2 - Andy Warhol de A à Z (p. 32-33); alternate photo in Dispatches From The Dream Factory 3CD booklet (1 b&w photo, p.8); in The Velvet Underground - An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (1 b&w photo, p. 96-97); in The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 60, 61, 62 [top], 63); in The Velvet Underground & Nico | 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition 6CD (p. 22, 23). See also Adam Ritchie Photography website.
• Paul Morrissey: in The Velvet Underground - New York Art (1 b&w photo, p. 62 [bottom]).

February 13, 1966
Bridge Theatre, New York, New York

4 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10003
Google Maps

Grand Underground Festival

Press article: in The Village Voice, February 10, 1966: "A Grand Underground Festival on Sunday, February 13, will bring avant-garde artists in various fields together at the Bridge Theatre, 4 St. Mark's Place. Among those to appear are (...) Angus MacLise; film makers Pieor Heliczer and Andy Warhol; as well as (...) the Velvet Underground. Reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 15).

Announcement: in The Village Voice, February 10, 1966: (...) Andy Warhol color film, Piero Heliczer's "The Velvet Underground". Reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 15).

No evidence that The Velvet Underground actually performed live on that event.

March 7, 1966
The Factory, New York, New York

231 E 47th St, New York, NY 10017
Google Maps | Wikipedia

Rehearsal before Exploding Plastic Inevitable

Tape: recorded by Andy Warhol. Includes I'll Be Your Mirror, Femme Fatale, excerpts of My Generation and It's All Over Now. Moe Tucker wasn't there, but Nico was. Source: All Tomorrow's Parties: Remembering the Velvet Underground CD (1, 5), At Andy Warhol Museum CD (1, 5), At The Factory - Warhol Tapes CD (1, 5), Dispatches From The Dream Factory 3CD Disc 1 (1), In 1966 There Was... 2-LP (1, 5), Andy Warhol From Tapes CD: Rehearsal jam/Factory sounds [with speaker comments] (2:55); I'll Be Your Mirror (1:00).

1. Get It On Time (2:18)
2. I Can't Explain
3. My Generation
4. The Last Time
5. I'll Be Your Mirror (3:20)

March 9, 1966
Scott Hall (Rutgers University), New Brunswick, New Jersey

43 College Ave, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Google Maps

Rutgers Up-Tight

Poster: "The Rutgers Film Society presents Andy Warhol's "Underground New York" featuring two films in color & double screen. "Vinyl" Staring Gerard Malanga & Edie Sedgwick Written by Ronnie Tavel. "Lupe" featuring Edie Sedgwick & Billy Linich. Plus onstage The Velvet Underground and Nico. "Rutgers Uptight" to be filmed in audience with Andy Warhol, Edie Sedgwick, Nico, Barbara Rubin, Gerard Malanga, Danny Williams, Billy Linch, Paul Morissey, the Velvet Underground. Wednesday March 9th at 8:00 & 10:00". Reproduced in Andy Warhol - 365 Takes (take #43); in The Velvet Underground - An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 48).

Flyer: at least two color versions - pale blue & red. Red version reproduced in The Velvet Underground | New York Art (p. 67).

Ads: in The Daily Princetonian (Princeton NJ), March 8 (p. 2) & March 9, 1966 (p. 3) issues.
Princeton University | The Papers of Princeton | 1 & 2

Press article: Warhol and Company Will Film Rutgers Uptight by Daniel Bayard Haber, in Rutgers Targum (official student newspaper of Rutgers University), March 2, 1966.

Review: untitled & uncredited review reproduced in Velvet Underground Scrapbook Volume 1 (p. 4-5).

Photos:

• Stephen Shore: in Warhol's Factory - The Velvet Years 1965-67 (2 photos, p. 73).
• Nat Finkelstein: in Warhol Live catalogue (p. 155, #54, 55; p. 159, #59); in Eddie Factory Girl (1 photo).

Sterling: "At Rutger's we were all dressed entirely in white. The effect, with all the films and lights projected on us, was invisibility."

March 12, 1966
Architecture And Design Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Fourth Ann Arbor Film Festival - Up-Tight with Andy Warhol

Ads: in Michigan Daily, March 11 & 12, 1966. Reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 16).

Photos: by Nat Finkelstein in Andy Warhol - The Factory Years 1964-1967 in the Invading the boonies - We were big in Ann Arbor chapter. This is a set of photos shot in the bus on the road to Ann Arbor and just before the EPI performance. Also in Up-tight - The Velvet Underground Story (p. 26-27, 28-29, 37, 54).

Reviews:

• Warhol: Neoprimitive Realism
  by Betsy Cohn in Michigan Daily, March 13, 1966.
• Festival, And Films By Warhol
  by Ellen Goodman in Detroit Free Press, March 15, 1966.
  Reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 17).
• Andy Warhol and the Plastic Quadrangle
  by David Freedman, unattributed clipping, in Scrapbook Vol. 10 Large (p. 72), Warhol Archives.

Ingrid Superstar: "I remember in Ann Arbor part of the audience went a little berserk, and there were a few hecklers. They're all a bunch of immature punks. Like we have these problems with a very enthusiastic audience that yells and screams and throws fits and tantrums and rolls on the floor, usually at colleges and benefits like that for the younger people. So, anyway, the effect of the music on the audience is just too stunned to think or say anything or give any kind of opinion. But then later I asked a few people in Ann Arbor, who had come to see the show a couple of nights in a row, what they thought, and they formed an opinion slowly. They said that they thought the music was very way out and supersonic and fast and intensified, and the effect of the sound it produced vibrated all through the audience, and when they walked out onto the street they still had these vibrations in their ears for about 15-minutes, especially from that last piece "Nothing Song", which was just noise and feedback and screeches and groans from the amplifiers."
[in Up-tight - The Velvet Underground Story (p. 29)]

March 22, 1966
The Southampton East Gallery, New York, New York

145 E 72nd St, New York, NY 10021
Google Maps

Pop Sounds

Invitation handbill: "Everyone has seen Pop Art... But no one has ever heard it---. Ben Brillo Invites you to the world's first public demonstration of a totally new art form "POP SOUNDS" (...) Come and meet the world's leading Pop artists, including Andy Warhol (accompanied by the Velvet Underground)..."

March 1966
Paraphernalia Store, New York, New York

795 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10065
Google Maps

Mentioned in Up-tight - The Velvet Underground Story (p. 30). Paraphernalia was Pilgrim Clothes flagship store. They had decided to hired Betsey Johnson to design their line and Betsey hired Andy Warhol to make a party.

Photos:

• Nat Finkelstein: in Up-tight - The Velvet Underground Story (p. 11, 31, 75, 92); in Andy Warhol - The Factory Years 1964-1967 in the Paraphernalia Show chapter; in Les Inrockuptibles Hors Série - The Velvet Underground (p. 33, 37, 68); in Warhol Live catalogue (p. 144, #46); in White Light/White Heat - The Velvet Underground Day-By-Day book (1 b&w photo, p. 81); in Lou Reed - Les Coffrets Cultes (1 b&w 240x280 mm photo on 300 gram coated paper); in The Velvet Underground - An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (2 photos, p. 85). One shot is also available on the back cover of the 1985 VU album, reproduced in Feed-Back - The Velvet Underground: legend, truth (p 50-51).
• Jack Robinson - see http://www.robinsonarchive.com

Film: by Gerard Malanga. Excerpts used in various documentaries (i.e. South Bank Show and Curious).

March 31, 1966
Village Gate, New York, New York

158 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10012
Google Maps | Wikipedia

The East Village Other Presents April Fool Dance & Models Ball

with the Fugs.

Ads:

• in The Village Voice, March 24, 1966, no mention of The Velvet Underground however.
  Reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 18).
• in The East Village Other, March 31, 1966 (full-page newsprint advertisement, 11 x 17").
  Reproduced in The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 134), in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 18).
• in unknown publication.

April 1 - April 30, 1966
The Open Stage, New York, New York

23 St Marks Pl (East Village), New York, NY 10003
Google Maps | Streetview

Exploding Plastic Inevitable

Although most people refer to the EPI at "the Dom" it actually premiered in the hall above the Dom Bar. According to "Bob" John Liikala who ran the Open Stage, "no one referred to my site as the Dom, it was the 'Open Stage.' Just to set history straight, 'Dom Inc.' did not premiere the [E.P.I.] event, it didn't even exist." (Source: Warholstars.org)

Poster: letterpress on coated poster board, 22 x 14" (55.9 x 35.6 cm). Reproduced in Peel Slowly And See booklet (p.32); in Andy Warhol - 365 Takes (take #43); in Warhol Live catalogue (p. 151, cat. 59); in Feed-Back - The Velvet Underground: legend, thruth (p. 27); in The Velvet Underground - An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 51); in The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 73); in The Velvet Underground & Nico | 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition 6CD (p. 37); in Warhol Underground catalogue (p. 50).

Ads:

• in The Village Voice, March 31, 1966 (p. 30).
  "COME BLOW YOUR MIND | the silver dream factory presents the first | ERUPTING PLASTIC INEVITABLE". Indicates "starting Friday April 1" and also "No performance on Saturday April 2nd".
  Reproduced in Dispatches From The Dream Factory 3CD booklet (p. 3); also shown in Southbank Show Velvet Underground TV documentary (at appox. 7:53).
• in The Village Voice, April 7, 1966 (½-page ad, p. 29).
  "DO YOU WANT TO DANCE AND BLOW YOUR MIND WITH - THE EXPLODING PLASTIC INEVITABLE".
  Reproduced in c/o The Velvet Underground catalogue (p. 10-11); in The Velvet Underground - An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 51); in The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 68-69); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 20).
• in The Village Voice, April 14, 1966.
  "DO YOU WANT TO DANCE AND BLOW YOUR MIND TO - ANDY WARHOL'S NEW DISCOTHEQUE - THE EXPLODING PLASTIC INEVITABLE".
  Reproduced in Dispatches From The Dream Factory 3CD booklet (p. 18); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 24).
  
• in The East Village Other, Vol. 1, No. 10, April 15 - March 1, 1966 (½-page newsprint ad, 9½ x 10½ inxh).
  Reproduced in Pop Goes Art exhibition box; in The Velvet Underground - An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 51); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 25).
• in The Village Voice, April 28, 1966. 9 x 24 cm.
  "Last Chance To Dance At Andy Warhol's Disco-Flick - ANDY WARHOL'S NEW DISCO-FLICKA-THEQUE - THE EXPLODING PLASTIC INEVITABLE".
  Reproduced in Dispatches From The Dream Factory 3CD booklet (p. 14); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 28).

Audio: Jonas Mekas' Scenes From The Life Of Andy Warhol film soundtrack, B+, 28 minutes. Sources: New York Underground 68-72 DVD, Chelsea Girls RaroVideo DVD. Also: Searchin' For My Mainline 3-CD (3:50 excerpt of 2), Ostrich Hilltop CD (4:21 excerpt of 2), Caught Between The Twisted Stars 4-CD (2).

1. I'll Be Your Mirror (fuzz-guitar overload version) (2:00)
2. Untitled (jam track) (25:07)

Jonas Mekas: "The Plastic Inevitables (Velvet Underground; Warhol and Company) performances at the Dom during the month of April provided the loudest and most dynamic exploration platform for this new art. The strength of Plastic Inevitables, and where they differ from all the other intermedia shows ans groups, is that they are dominated by the ego. Warhol has attracted toward himself the most egocentric personalmities and artists. the auditorium, every aspect of it—singers, light throwers, strobe operators, dancers—at all times are screaming with screeching, piercing personality pain. I say pain; it could also be called desperation. In any case, it is the last stand of the ego, before it either breaks dow or goes to the other side. Plastic Inevitables gives us the most dramatic expression of the contemporary generation—it's at the Dom that its needs and desperations are most dramatically split open. (...) At the Plastic Inevitables, however, the dance floor and the satege are charged with the electricity of a dramatic break just before the dawn. (...) at the Plastic Inevitables it is all Here and Now and the Future."
[in May 26, 1966 – On the Plastic Inevitables and the strobe light by Jonas Mekas, Movie Journal: The Rise of the American Cinema 1959-1971. This article is also cited in The Boston Sound by Wayne McGuire in Crawdaddy #17]

Jonas Mekas: "The Dom series of the Velvet Underground, with projections, were the most energy-charged performances I have ever seen anywhere. The film-maker here became a conductor, having at his fingertips not only all the different creative components - like sound controls, a rock band, slide projectors, lighting - but also all th extreme personalities of each of the operators of each piece of the equipment. He was structuring with temperaments, egos and personalities! Warhol maneuvered it all into sound, image and light symphonies of tremendous emotional and mental pitch (Exploding Inevitables was the other name) which reached to the very heart of the New Generation. And he, the conductor, always stood there, in the balcony, at the left corner, next to the projector, somewhere in the shadow, totally unnoticeable, but following every second and every detail of it, structure-wise, that is."
[in Notes after reseeing the movies of Andy Warhol by Jonas Mekas in Andy Warhol by John Coplans, New York Graphic Society, Greenwich CT, 1970]

The existence of an EPI at the Dom recording tape, brought to London by Kate Heliczer, was also reported by Barry Miles.

Barry Miles: "Barbara Rubin stayed in London with her English friend Kate Heliczer, who had recently broken up with her husband, Piero Heliczer, the filmmaker and poet. (...) When he and Kate broke up she returned to London bringing with her stories of Andy Warhol’s Exploding Plastic Inevitable show at the Dom on St. Marks Place, and a live tape of the Velvet Underground playing there. Sterling Morrison of the Velvets lived at Piero’s apartment on Broad Street, so there was a close connection between the Heliczers and the band. (...) He (Hoppy) and Kate Heliczer were often in each other’s company and soon moved in together. The Velvet Underground tapes that Kate brought from New York were often playing in the flat and Peter Jenner, one of the organisers, with Hoppy, of the London Free School, heard them there. Jenner, Hoppy and Joe Boyd, the American record producer and concert promoter, and several others, had a production company called DNA and had already released an AMM record with Elektra, that was hardly a commercial success. They needed to combine experimentation with something more accessible. When Jenner heard the Velvets tape he telephoned Lou Reed asking to manage the band, but it was too late, they had already signed to Warhol. Jenner kept looking."
[in Early Days of the London Underground Scene, previously unpublished text from 2002]

Photos:

• Nat Finkelstein: in Up-tight | The Velvet Underground Story (p. 32-33, 34, 35); in Pop Goes Art | Andy Warhol & Velvet Underground (p. 16); in Superstars (p. 33); in Les Inrockuptibles Hors Série | The Velvet Underground (p. 44); in Andy Warhol Screen Tests (p. 18); in Warhol Live catalogue (p. 155, #51, 52, 56, 57; p. 161, #61); in The Velvet Underground | An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 52, 54).
• Billy Name: in The Films of Andy Warhol: Part II (p. 26); in Andy Warhol Screen Tests (p. 264); in Warhol Live catalogue (p. 156, cat. 425; p. 157, cat. 426; p. 160, #60); in Les Inrocks 2 | Andy Warhol de A à Z (p. 23); in The Velvet Underground | An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 55); in The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 72); in Billy Name | The Silver Age (p. 304-305).
• Fred McDarrah: in The Village Voice, April 7, 1966 (p. 1); in Les Inrockuptibles | Superstars (p. 9, 12, 33, 44); in Warhol Live catalogue (p. 28, fig. 5; p. 33, fig. 1; p. 154, #50); in The Velvet Underground | New York Art (p. 78, 79, 82-83); in The Velvet Underground & Nico | 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition 6CD (p. 13, 32, 33); in Warhol Underground catalogue (p. 51, 53).
• Paul Morrissey: in c/o The Velvet Underground catalogue (p. 6-7, 50, 51); in Feed-Back | The Velvet Underground: legend, thruth (p. 19); in The Velvet Underground | New York Art (p. 76, 77). Another shot from the same series is used as cover of The Velvet Underground Story 2006 2CD collection.

Reviews:

• Andy, Edie, & the Velvet Underground
  in The Village Voice, April 7, 1966 (p. 12, plus p. 1 insert with one photo).
  reproduced in The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 80); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 20 & 21).
• Black Jeans to Go Dancing at the Movies: It's Inevitable
  by Marilyn Bender, in The New York Times, April 11, 1966 (p. 47).
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 22).
• Notebook for Night Owls - Velvet Nineveh
  by Sally Kempton, in The Village Voice, April 14, 1966 (p. 18).
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 23).
• A "High" School of Music and Art
  by John Wilcock, in The East Village Other, Vol. 1, No. 10, April 15 - May 1, 1966 (p. 5).
  reproduced in Pop Goes Art exhibition box, in Velvet Underground Scrapbook Volume 1 (p. 2); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 23); reprinted in All Yesterdays' Parties - The Velvet Underground In Print 1966-1971 (p. 8-10).
• Pop Artist Creates a 'Happening'
  by Bob Glover, in The Daily Register, April 22, 1966 (Young Adult Section p. 4).
• An Exploding World
  by Mitch Susskind and Leslie Gottesman, in Columbia Daily Spectator, April 27, 1967.
  reproduced in The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 81); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 27).
• At the 'Plastic Inevitable,' reality becomes unreal
  by Jeff Cox, in The Pocono Record (Stroudsburg PA), May 5, 1966.
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 36).
• Movie Journals
  by Jonas Mekas (as they appeared in The Village Voice), in Film Culture - Expanded Art, number 43, Winter 1966. May 26, 1966 article includes a review of The E.P.I. at the Dom.
  Reproduced in Pop Goes Art exhibition box.
• Notes From The Underground
  by Mary Frances Carr, in The Examplar, June 8, 1966.
  reproduced in The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 111); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 55).
• Inevitable Explodes on St. Mark's Place
  by Stephanie Harrington, in The Village Voice, June 16, 1966 (p. 29, 31).
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 56).
• 'New Theater' Promises to Throw Off Dialogue and Plot Restriction
  by Jeff Cox, in Caroll Daily Times Herald, August 30, 1967
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 170).

April 26, 1966
National Roller Skating Arena, Washington, District Of Columbia

1661 Kalorama Rd NW, Washington, DC 20009
Google Maps

NOW Festival

Program: theater program for the NOW Festival, including "Velvet Underground / Andy Warhol and cast".

Callie Angell: A performance event called "Linoleum" by Robert Rauschenberg "ended with an electronic bang when Pop Artist Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground, a rock and roll band from his New York night club, The Plastic Inevitable, turned the roller rink into a giant discotheque." (quote from Leroy F. Aarons, "New Theater's 'Happening' Amuses, Angers Audience," The Washington Post, April 27, 1966, p. B2.). So, despite the fact the Velvets were booked at the Dom all that month, they apparently weren't performing every night.

Review:

• New Theater's 'Happening' Amuses, Angers Audience
  by Leroy F. Aarons
  in The Washington Post, April 27, 1966.
• NOW Festival: Pop's Here NOW, and Oh the Plastic Inevitability of It All
  by John Sherwood
  in The Evening Star, April 27, 1966. Note: The Star's review provides more detail. and includes one photo of "Nico, potential Pop Girl of 1966".

April 27 (?), 1966
Filmmaker's Cinematheque, New York, New York

125 W 41st St, New York, NY 10036
Google Maps

Callie Angell: Also, I have found some evidence, not entirely clear, that they performed at the Filmmaker's Cinematheque on April 27th (?), 1966, which would have been the very next night. The Cinematheque ads from the Village Voice for that date announce "A new film by Andy Warhol," and "BED by Andy Warhol, Based on a play by Bob Heide." But I found an article from the Fire Island News, June 4, 1966, by George English "The Worst is Yet to Come," which describes in great detail an evening at "the Film-Maker's Cinematheque this spring when they were showing Andy Warhol's 'Up-Tight Series." The dating of this is a little hard to figure out: I would have assumed he is describing the February "Up-Tight" show at the Cinematheque, since he mentions Edie Sedgwick, a "pregnant girl in a red dress going up and down the aisle" with a spotlight and camera filming people (Barbara Rubin?). But he does say, "this spring," and then he also describes -- in very convincing detail --- a screening of The Bed in double-screen followed by a screening of Outer and Inner Space in double screen, following by the Velvet Underground performing with Nico, Edie and probably Gerard dancing on stage, and "three movies going at the same time." As far as I know, The Bed was not shown at the Up-Tight shows in February (and was it announced in April as "a new film by Andy Warhol"). (It was actually made the previous fall).

April 27, 1966
Cheetah, New York, New York

Broadway & W 53rd St, New York, NY 10019
Google Maps | Wikipedia

"preview" evening

With: Monti Rock III, The Denims.

Press article: an appearance of The Velvet Underground at Cheetah is mentioned in Cheetah prove hep social lions by Earl Wilson, in The Plain Dealer (Cleveland OH), May 6, 1966.

"I've overlooked Andy Warhol's "Velvet Underground" - guys with bullwhips which they couldn't swing as there wasn't room - (...)"

See also Cheetah early history article Jimi Hendrix and Cheetah at earlyhendrix.com.

April 28, 1966
Village Gate, New York, New York

158 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10012
Google Maps | Wikipedia

20th anniversary party for George Plimpton's The Paris Review

Velvet: "And then I remember at the Paris Review downstairs at the Village Gate they had all the lights out and they had the strobe lights flashing on Gerard and Mary and some oçf the band, and ... oh, I remember just before going on stage, John Cale fell flat on his face, and I had to practically lift him up. He couldn't even, you know, see where he was going."
[Ingrid Superstar: Yeehaw. | The Velvet Underground, in Andy Warhol's Index, 1967]

Steve Nelson: "I first saw them in April 1966 at the 20th anniversary party for George Plimpton's The Paris Review at The Village Gate in NYC. A lot of bands played all evening, and The Velvets were the last to come on, with Nico, and Gerard Malanga doing the whip dance. I never heard them introduced (if they were) and had no idea who they were, but I was totally blown away. There were a lot of celebrities at that event, and when Frank Sinatra came downstairs where The Velvets were playing, he took one look at them, and turned right around and went back upstairs."

May 3-5, 1966
The Trip, West Hollywood, California

8572 W Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069
Google Maps

Exploding Plastic Inevitable

The engagement was from May 3rd to 18th, but the sheriff closed down the club after the third day.

Radio ad: in What Goes On 3-CD set.

Ads:

• in Los Angeles Free Press, May 6, 1966
  reproduced in All Yesterdays' Parties | The Velvet Underground In Print 1966-1971 (advance reading copy only); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 37).
• in Los Angeles Free Press, May 13, 1966 (p. 12): same as May 6, 1966
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 40).
• in UCLA Daily Bruin, May 13, 1966 (p. 14): same ad as LA Free Press.
  archive.org | UCLA Daily Bruin
• half-page ad in (KRLA/KYA) The Beat Volume 2, Number 9, May 14, 1966
  KRLA Beat: L.A.'s first rock-and-roll newspaper
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 41).
• in Los Angeles Times calendar, May 15, 1966
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 41).
• half-page ad in KLRA Beat Volume 2, Number 10, May 21, 1966, p. 17. Reproduced in c/o The Velvet Underground catalogue (p. 74, b&w); in The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 93, b&w).
  KRLA Beat: L.A.'s first rock-and-roll newspaper
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 43).

Poster: cardboard site poster, 22 x 14". The poster was not designed by Roy Lichtenstein, but appropriated his Newsweek cover image. Reproduced in Pop Goes Art exhibition box; in The Velvet Underground - An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 56): in The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 95).

Photos:

• uncredited photographer: 1 color photo as part of Wild New Flashy Badlam of the Discothèque article in Life magazine, May 27, 1966. Reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 48-49).
• Howard L. Bingham: black & white photo collage in Beat, May 28, 1966 (p. 13). Full-page reproduced in Up-tight | The Velvet Underground Story book (p. 43); in c/o The Velvet Underground catalogue (p. 65); in The Velvet Underground | An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 13); in The Velvet Underground | New York Art (p. 101); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 50), in Warhol Underground catalogue (p. 57). Also one photo in Beat, December 31, 1966 (p. 5), reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 90-91).
  KRLA Beat: L.A.'s first rock-and-roll newspaper
• uncredited photographer: 1 black & white photo, illustrating Trip Blows One article (see below).
• Lisa Law: black & white photos, available in Flashing On The Sixties - Photographs by Lisa Law book (2 photos, p. 36); on the front cover of The Warlocks/The Falling Spikes bootleg LP (1 photo); in the German Pop Goes Art exhibition box (5 photos); in Pop Goes Art - Andy Warhol & Velvet Underground (3 photos, p. 19, 21, 22); in The Velvet Underground & Nico - Deluxe Edition 2CD (3 photos); in Les Inrockuptibles Hors Série - The Velvet Underground (1 photo, p. 4-5); in Andy Warhol Screen Tests (1 photo, p. 266); in The Velvet Underground - An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 58-59, 60-61); in The Velvet Underground - New York Art (7 photos, p. 96-99, 126-127); on The Velvet Underground Icon CD backcover (1 photo); in The Velvet Underground & Nico | 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition 6CD (p. 46-47, 48, 49); in Grazia magazine, March 25, 2016 (p. 61). Lisa has more of the gig at the Trip and lots of Nico and all of them at the Castle and Lou and Nico rehearsing at the Castle.
• Charles Brittin: 3 black & white photos published in 2nd issue of arthur, January 2003; 2 pictures in MOJO 112, March 2003 (p. 23).
• Julian Wasser: 1 black & white photo in MOJO 124, March 2004 (p. 72).
• Chuck Boyd: black & white photos, 1 available at The Chuck Boyd Photo Collection; 3 at Chuck Boyd Galleries.
• Steve Schapiro: in Warhol Underground catalogue (p. 54-55). More available (including color photos) at gettyimages.com

Press articles:

• Andy Warhol to Unveil Nitery Act
  in Los Angeles Times, May 3, 1966.
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 30).
• A Far-Out Night With Andy Warhol
  by Kevin Thomas
  in Los Angeles Times, May 5, 1966
  reproduced on back side of the Fillmore Auditorium, May 26-27 handbill; in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 35).
  reprinted in All Yesterdays' Parties | The Velvet Underground In Print 1966-1971 (p. 12-14).
• High Camp Has Last Laugh
  by Joan Chatfield-Taylor
  in San Francisco Chronicle, May 6, 1966 (p. 21).
• Trip Blows One
  by Burton
  in KFWB/98, May 11, 1966 (p. 2)
  reproduced in c/o The Velvet Underground catalogue (p. 26); in The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 100); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 54).
• Andy Warhol and the Night on Fire
  by Paul Jay Robbins
  in Los Angeles Free Press, May 13, 1966 (p. 12)
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 40); reprinted in All Yesterdays' Parties | The Velvet Underground In Print 1966-1971 (p. 15-19).
• Co-Headliners at Slate Bros.
  in Los Angeles Times, May 15, 1966
  "Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground and Nico will appear through Wednesday at The Trip".
• Andy Peacepimple Puts a New Complexion on Night
  by Andy Seidenbaum
  in Los Angeles Times Calendar, May 15, 1966 (p. 3).
• Strip's Trip Hit by 3G Pay Claim as Club Shutter
  in Daily Variety, Vol. 131, No. 52, May 17, 1966 (p. 1 & 13)
  reproduced in The Velvet Underground | New York Art (p. 92, 93); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 42).
• Andy Warhol Hit The Sunset Strip
  in unknown publication, circa May 1966
  reproduced in The Velvet Underground | New York Art (p. 100); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 52).
• Legal Problems Cause Closure of The Trip
  in unknown publication, May 1966
  reproduced inThe Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 46).
• untitled & uncredited review reproduced in Velvet Underground Scrapbook Volume 1 (p. 2-3).

Cher: "It depressed me. It will replace nothing - except maybe suicide."

May 17, 1966
Harris Plazza, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

Announcement: Two Films By Warhol Debut at 8 in University of Southern California Daily Trojan, Volume XVII, No. 121, May 17, 1966 (p. 1).
USC Libraries | Daily Trojan

Showing of two Andy Warhol films, Beauty #2 and Nico in the closet. The Daily Trojan article says that "If enough tickets are sold, Warhol will be present at the screening". No Velvet Underground show on this date, but the article mentions: "Warhol's publicity manager, Steve Sesnick would like to do an entire featured show which will include the Velvet Underground in concert at USC sometime in the fall. However he said that this will depend on the student response to the two movies now".

May 19, 1966
Dickson Art Center, UCLA, Los Angeles, California

The Retired Exploding Plastic Inevitable in Poetry

Ad: in classified ads section of UCLA Daily Bruin, May 19, 1966 (p. 14). It mentions Gerard Malanga, Lou Reed and Nico, plus movies by Gerard Malanga and Andy Warhol.
archive.org | UCLA Daily Bruin

May 27-29, 1966
Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, California

1805 Geary Blvd (at Fillmore Street), San Francisco, CA 94115
Google Maps | Wikipedia

Exploding Plastic Inevitable

With: The Mothers of Invention.

Poster: "BILL GRAHAM PRESENTS", BG 8. Screen print on heavyweight paper, 20 x 14" (50.8 x 35.6 cm). Artist is Wes Wilson. Reproduced in Pop Goes Art exhibition box; Warhol Live catalogue (p. 152, cat. 75); in The Velvet Underground | An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 63); in The Velvet Underground | New York Art (p. 109).

• The pre-concert 1st printing has union logo 72 in the lower left corner and measures 20 x 14".
• The 2nd printing is a 1967 post-concert reprint with no union logo and "Printing by West Coast Lithograph Co. SF" below "Geary" in the image. It measures 13 3/4 x 19 15/16".
• The 3rd printing (see BG008-3) was printed in 1993 with "Andy Warhol and His Plastic Inevitable" in hot pink rather than white. "© Wes Wilson BG 8-3/PS 33" was added below "Fillmore" at the lower left corner of the image above "Ticket." The poster measures 20 x 14".

Handbills: same artwork by Wes Wilson, 8½ x 5½", printed on other color papers (bright pink, pale pink, pale green, tan/yellow, pale yellow) and most are two sided with a reprint from the LA Times, May 5, 1966 on the backside (some bright pink printings have blank back). Reproduced in The Velvet Underground | An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 63); in The Velvet Underground | New York Art (p. 108).

Postcards: repro of original poster, printed at a later date. Original printing is 8 x 5 inch (20.4 x 12.7 cm). Later one is 7 x 5 inch (17.7 x 12.7 cm) and has "ANDY WARHOL AND HIS PLASTIC INEVITABLE" colored in pink.

Ads: in San Francisco Chronicle, May 27, 1966 (p. 49): "DATEBOOK | Opening Today | HAPPENING-DANCE–Andy Warhol's "Exploding Plastic Inevitable," with singer Nico, the Velvet Underground band and others, 9 p.m., Fillmore Auditorium.". In the Ad Libs section: "at the Fillmore tonight through Sunday night: Andy Warhol and his Plastic Inevitable, The Velvet Underground and The Mothers."

Tapes: listed in What Goes On | The Best of 1&2 fanzine, 27/5 (45 mins, B-); 29/5 (55 mins, B-). Status: UNCONFIRMED.

Press articles:

• Rosy View of Pop
  by Elinor Hayes in Oakland Tribune, May 21, 1966.
  Andy Warhol press conference report before Filmore shows. One photo with Gerard Malanga, Andy Warhol and Nico.
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 44).
• Conjuror's Dream From Pop World
  by John L. Wasserman in San Francisco Chronicle, May 23, 1966 (p. 52).
  reproduced in c/o The Velvet Underground catalogue (p. 27); in The Velvet Underground | New York Art (p. 110); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 45).
• Andy Warhol, Son of Hip
  by Merla Zellerbach, in San Francisco Chronicle, May 27, 1966.
• The Sizzle That Fizzled
  by Ralph J. Gleason, in San Francisco Chronicle, May 30, 1966 (p. 47).
  reproduced in The Velvet Underground | New York Art (p. 110); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 51).
• Gimmicky 'Explosion'
  by Philip Elwood, in San Francisco Examiner, May 30, 1966.
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 52).
• The Lion's Sheep
  by Joan Chatfield-Taylor in San Francisco Chronicle, May 30, 1966 (p. 20), with 2 photos (Nico & Andy Warhol).
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 53).

Sterling Morrison: "We actually built the light show at the Fillmore. Bill Graham didn't, nor did any San Francisco entrepreneur. When we showed up, Graham had a slide projector with a picture of the moon. We said, 'That's not a light show, Bill, sorry.' That's one of the reasons that Graham really hates us." (1983)

John Cale: "In San Francisco, we played the Fillmore and no one liked us much. We put the guitars against the amps, turned up, played percussion and then split. Bill Graham came into the dressing room and said, "You owe me 20 more minutes." I'd dropped a cymbal on Lou's head and he was bleeding. "Is he hurt?" Graham said. "We're not insured.""
[in Shards of Velvet Afloat in London by Robert Greenfield in Rolling Stone magazine, February 18, 1971]

Ralph J. Gleason: "If this is what America's waiting for, we are all going to die of boredom, because this is a celebration of the silliness of cafe society... The Velvet Underground was really pretty lame... Camp plus con equals nothing."
[in The San Francisco Chronicles, 1966]

John Cale: "Bill Graham didn't appreciate all the songs and improvisations that were going on. He thought we were invading [the San Francisco group’s] territory. There wasn't much love lost between us and the West Coast. Lou was always talking about, ‘Never mind the flower children, give us the hard drugs!’ We were happy that Woodstock ended up in the mud—that kind of resentment was very healthy, I thought."
(in People Music | The Velvet Underground & Nico at 50: John Cale Goes Track by Track Through the Debut That Changed Music by Jordan Runtagh, March 31, 2017)

Bill Graham get back to the EPI shows at Fillmore in Rock Palace King Cools It With Jazz, an article by Leonard Feather, in Los Angeles Times March 10, 1968. Reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 229).

June 21-June 26 held over July 3, 1966
Poor Richard's, Chicago, Illinois

1363 N Sedgwick St, Chicago, IL 60610
Google Maps

Exploding Plastic Inevitable

These shows were without Lou Reed who was at New York's Beth Israel Hospital for hepatitis, and without Nico who took off for Ibiza at the beginning of June. Angus MacLise was on drums, Maureen on bass, Sterling and John on lead vocals. The engagement - originally June 21-26 - was held over July 3rd.

Poster: letterpress on cardboard with printed paper sticker, 22¼ x 14" (56.2 x 35.6 cm). Reproduced in Andy Warhol - 365 Takes (take #43) and in Warhol Live catalogue (p. 152, cat. 63); in The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 115); in The Velvet Underground & Nico | 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition 6CD (p. 53); in Warhol Underground catalogue (p. 50).

Handbill: 11 x 8½ inch, text printed on black or white paper. Reproduced in The Velvet Underground - An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 64).

Announcements:

• Andy Warhol and His Marvelous Fun Machine
  by Michaela Williams, in Chicago Daily News, June 10, 1966 (p. 34). Unattributed clipping, in Scrapbook Vol. 10 Large (p. 62) Warhol Archives.
• From The Music Capital Of The World in Billboard, June 25, 1966 (p. 38): "Andy Warhol's "Exploding Plastic Inevitable" show, embracing a rock group called The Velvet Underground, comes with its troupe of 10 to Poor Richard's tomorrow (21). The Group plays while underground films roll, stroboscopic lights stream and dancers writhe."
  Google books

Setlist: reproduced in c/o The Velvet Underground catalogue (p. 32); in The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 114).

Reviews:

• Warhol's Brutal Assemblage | Non-Stop Horror Show
  by Michaela Williams in Chicago Daily News, June 22, 1966 (p. 34).
  Excerpt reprinted in the liner notes of The Velvet Underground & Nico gatefold cover.
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 57).
• Pop Revue - Way Out? Very In?
  by Susan Nelson in The Chicago Tribune, June 29, 1966, with a photo by Bart Malinski (with Moe Tucker playing bass, and John Cale).
  reproduced in The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 111); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 58); reprinted in All Yesterdays' Parties - The Velvet Underground In Print 1966-1971 (p. 21-23).
• Warhol's 'Exploding Show' Stirs Psychosis in Chi's Offbeat Poor Richard's
  in Variety, June 29, 1966.
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 59).
• What's Happening to the Happening
  by Larry S. Finley in Daily Illini (University of Illinois), June 30, 1966 (p. 1).
• Chicago Happenings
  by Larry McCombs, in The Broadside (Cambridge MA), Volume V, Number 12, August 3, 1966.
  reprinted in Zig Zag no. 41; in All Yesterdays' Parties - The Velvet Underground In Print 1966-1971 (p. 24-27).
  "the music is lost in the chaos of noise. Are there children chanting or singing? ... Then it goes on and on and on... you wish it would stop".
• An 'Experience'-Warhol Version
  by Susan Dooley, unattributed clipping, in Scrapbook Vol. 10 Large (p.70), Warhol Archives.
• On Film: a teenager meets Andy's gang
  By Bill Stamets, in Chicago Reader, November 13, 2003.
  http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/on-film-a-teenager-meets-andys-gang/Content?oid=913806

John Cale: "In Chicago, I was singing lead because Lou had hepatitis, no one knew the difference. We turned our faces to the wall and turned up very loud. Paul Morrisey (later the director of Trash) and Danny Williams had different visions of what the light show should be like and one night I looked up to see them fighting, hitting each other in the middle of a song. Danny Williams just disappeared. They found his clothes by the side of a river, with his car nearby... the whole thing. He used to carry this strobe around with him all the time and no one could figure out why till we found out he kept his amphetamine in it."
[in Shards of Velvet Afloat in London by Robert Greenfield in Rolling Stone magazine, February 18, 1971]

June 23, 1966

Film: Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable, by Ronald Nameth. The film soundtrack offers two songs recorded in Chicago.

Audio: film soundtrack, B, 10 minutes. Sources: Orange Disaster LP (1-2), Searchin' For My Mainline 3-LP and 3-CD (1-2), A Symphony Of Sound 2-LP (1-2), Ultra Rare Trax Vol. 3 CD (1-2), Caught Between The Twisted Stars 4-CD (1-2), Dispatches From The Dream Factory 3-CD Disc 1 (1-2).

1. Heroin (5:14)
2. Venus In Furs (3:24)

Late June/early July 1966
Playboy Club, Chicago, Illinois

116 E Walton St, Chicago, IL 60611
Google Maps | Wikipedia

Photo: in Playboy Club magazine VIP, subtitled "A recent fashion show-happening at the Windy City warren, sponsored by Mod shop Mat At Ease, featured the nouvelle vague entertainment troupe "The Velvet Underground," touting the most modern in way-out wearables". Reproduced in The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 119).

Sterling Morrison: As for "Playboy," they hired us to play in the club at a noon fashion show - the clothing was given to us by a mod shop in Old Town. It was written up with a picture in their VIP magazine.[in Up-tight - The Velvet Underground Story (p. 49)]

Summer/Fall 1966
The Factory, New York, New York

231 E 47th St, New York, NY 10017
Google Maps | Wikipedia

The Velvet Underground And Nico (a.k.a. A Symphony Of Sound)

Film: by Andy Warhol, 67 min, 2 reels, B/W. A video tape of 2nd reel circulates unofficialy. A pirate "audience" screener video (recorded during a film projection) also exists, and it has the complete film. The complete film is now available officialy on VHS (2002) and DVD (2004), released by RaroVideo Visioni Underground.

Audio: film soundtrack, 53 min. Sources: A Symphony Of Sound 2-LP, Searchin' For My Mainline 3-CD, A Walk With The VU 5-CD (all those records have actually the 20 minutes of Velvet Underground music offered on reel two), A Symphony Of Sound LP.

1. Untitled jam track (53 minutes)

Photo: by Stephen Shore in The Velvet Underground & Nico | 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition 6CD (p. 30-31)

August 26-September 1, 1966
Falmouth, Massachusetts

Exploding Plastic Inevitable

Probably cancelled. No other evidence so far.

Mentioned in New Technique To Hit Amuse Scene by George Forsythe in Boston Traveler, August 10, 1966: "It's pop artist Andy Warhol's creative entertainment which, in the words he understands, is called the "Exploding Plastic Inevitable." (...) It runs in Falmouth on August 31 to September 1st and later will play college dates in the New England area. Also it is scheduled for an open performance in Boston in the Fall."

August 31-September 4, 1966
Chrysler Art Museum, Provincetown, Massachusetts

356 Commercial St, Provincetown, MA 02657
Google Maps | Wikipedia

Exploding Plastic Inevitable

Posters: 2 different.

• Screen print on heavyweight paper, 13¾ x 15¾ in (34.8 x 40 cm).
  Reproduced in Peel Slowly And See booklet (p. 77); in Warhol Live catalogue (p. 152, cat. 64); in The Velvet Underground - An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 69); in The Velvet Underground & Nico | 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition 6CD (p. 88).
• Letterpress on coated cardboard, 22 x 14 in (55.6 x 35.6 cm). "IT'S ANDY WARHOL'S EXPLOSION!" text (only 2 known copies to exist, one is at Chrysler Art Museum).
  Reproduced in c/o The Velvet Underground catalogue (p. 5); in Warhol Live catalogue (p. 152, cat. 65); in The Velvet Underground | An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 69); in The Velvet Underground | New York Art (p. 118); in The Velvet Underground & Nico | 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition 6CD (p. 66).

Ads:

• in Provincetown Advocate, August 25, 1966 (p. 4):
  Coming August 31 thru September 4 | Andy Warhol | "Velvet Underground"
• in Provincetown Advocate, September 1, 1966 (p. 3 & 4)

Photo: Hugo (see back of The Velvet Underground And Nico LP).

Audio: Dorothy Gees Seckler Collection of Sound Recordings Relating to Art and Artists, 1962-1976 | Series 1: Interviews with Artists , 1962-1976. Box 1 Item 23 is: "Exploding Plastic Inevitable Performance and Interview with John Cale, 1966 September | 2 Sound cassettes; Sound is very distorted. | Performance in Provincetown, Mass. by Niko and the Velvet Underground, with sound from projected films, including Warhol's films "Hedy" and "The Kiss." Seckler is heard discussing the films and performance with an unidentified man during the show. Side 2 of cassette 2 begins with a 17-minute interview with John Cale, followed by about 8 minutes of blank tape, followed by more of the performance."
[source: Smithsonian | Archives Of American Art]

Review: Mass Media Collision: Exotic Trip by Jim Trombetta, in The Campus (Middlebury VT), September 22, 1966 (p. 15 &17).
Digital Collection at Middlebury

September 15-?, 1966
Filmmakers' Cinematheque, New York, New York

125 W 41st St, New York, NY 10036
Google Maps

Ad: in The Village Voice, September 8-14, 1966: Film-makers' ad that includes the VU performing at the Cinematheque.

September 16-17 - October 21-22, 1966
Balloon Farm (formerly The Dom), New York, New York

23 St Marks Pl (East Village), New York, NY 10003
Google Maps

Exploding Plastic Inevitable Returns

The engagement began late September - in a letter to her friend Edward K. Walsh, received September 27, 1966, Susan Pile writes: "Velvets are at Dom in East Village (with Nico Mary Paffgen)". The September 22, 1966 issue of The Village Voice features two ads for forthcoming shows at The Balloon Farm. Also an article in The Village Voice dated September 29, 1966 says: "...Nico, with Andy Warhol and the Velvet underground returned the Exploding Plastic Inevitable to the floor above the Dom last week. The room is renamed Balloon Farm for the new season".

Film.

Ads: see also ads published in The Village Voice below.

• in The East Village Other vol. 1 no. 21, October 1-15, 1966, "Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable returns". Reproduced in Pop Goes Art exhibition box; in All Yesterdays' Parties - The Velvet Underground In Print 1966-1971 book (p. 2); in The Velvet Underground - An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 68); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 65).
• in The New York Times, October 8, 1966. Reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 66).
• reproduced in c/o The Velvet Underground catalogue (p. 46); same one in The Velvet Underground - An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 68); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 66).

Reviews:

• in The Village Voice, September 29, 1966.
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 64).
• A Quiet Evening At The Balloon Farm
  by Richard Goldstein in New York Magazine, October 1966.
  reproduced in The Velvet Underground Scrapbook (p. 3-4); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 70-72); reprinted in Uptight - The Velvet Underground Story book (p. 56-58); in All Yesterdays' Parties - The Velvet Underground In Print 1966-1971 book (p. 29).

September 16-17, 1966

Ad: in The Village Voice.

September 23-24, 1966

Ads: in The Village Voice, September 22, 1966: 1 large ad with EPI reviews, and 1 small insert ad, printed twice (p. 21 & 28). Reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 62-63).

September 30 - October 1, 1966

October 7-8, 1966

October 14-15, 1966

Mentioned as "the last show" by Susan Pile in a letter to Ed Walsh.

Ad: in The Village Voice, October 13, 1966. Reproduced in The Velvet Underground - An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 69); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 67).

October 21-22, 1966

Ad: in The Village Voice, October 20, 1966. "Last New York Weekend". Reproduced in The Velvet Underground - An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 68); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 69).

October 28-29, 1966

Ad: in The Village Voice. However it's doubful those shows took place, especially the second one as the group was in Boston at the ICA on October 29 - see below.

October 26, 1966
Lita Hornick's apartment, New York, New York

Mentioned in a letter by Susan Pile to Ed Walsh.

Late October - Mid-December 1966
The Exploding Plastic Inevitable
Tour in Midwest, Canada and East Coast

October 29, 1966
Institute of Contemporary Arts, Boston, Massachusetts

100 Newbury St, Boston, MA 02116
Google Maps | Wikipedia

Exploding Plastic Inevitable

Documented in Up-tight | The Velvet Underground Story book (p. 63) with extracts from The Secret Diaries of Gerard Malanga.

Preview: Warhol's Show Opens At Boston Institute in Lowell Sun, October 16, 1966.

Poster: 34 x 21½, printed in black and silver ink on card stock, photo by Rudy Burckhardt.

Invitation: to the ICA opening and show. 4 x 8 in. Reproduced in c/o The Velvet Underground catalogue (p. 56-57); in The Velvet Underground | New York Art (p. 119).

Ticket: for "Expanding Plastic Inevitable".

Announcements:

• Warhol's Show Opens At Boston Institute
  by Ana Shecter in Lowell Sun, October 16, 1966.
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 68).
• Warhol comes to town
  in The Tech, October 18, 1966
  http://www-tech.mit.edu/archives/VOL_086/TECH_V086_S0398_P007.pdf
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 69).
• Sell Out Expected
  in Boston Record American, October 28, 1966 (p. 58) with one promo photo.
  ""Velvet Unerground and Nico," the band and vocalist, is just part of the super-real art assemblage also featuring dancers, films, sounds and lights in Andy Warhol's "Expanding Plastic Inevitable" at the Institute of Contemporary Art Saturday, Oct. 29. Due to a sell-out of first performance, a second has benn scheduled for 11 p.m."

Reviews:

• Warhol Show At the Institute – Art a la Andy
  by Paul Giguere in The Boston Sunday Herald, Oct. 30, 1966 | SECTION TWO (p. 95)
• Warhol creates optical rock
  in The Tech, November 1, 1966.
  http://www-tech.mit.edu/archives/VOL_086/TECH_V086_S0457_P006.pdf
• O, Andy, How Sad
  by Kevin Kelly, unattributed clipping [review of EPI performance at the ICA, Boston, 29 October 1966], in Scrapbook vol. 2 Small (p. 1), Warhol Archives.
• The 40 greatest concerts in Boston history: 18
  Velvet Underground and the Exploding Plastic Inevitable - the ICA | October 29, 1966
  in The Boston Phoenix, October 25, 2006.
  http://thephoenix.com/boston/music/25529-40-greatest-concerts-in-boston-history-18/

October 30, 1966
Leicester Airport, Leicester, Massachusetts

Off Route 56, Leicester, MA 01524
Google Maps

Andy Warhol presents Halloween Mod Happening - The Exploding Plastic Inevitable

Documented in Up-tight - The Velvet Underground Story (p. 63).

Poster: letterpress on coated poster board, 22 x 14" (55.9 x 35.6 cm). Reproduced in Peel Slowly And See booklet (p. 78); in c/o The Velvet Underground catalogue (p. 4); in Warhol Live catalogue (p. 152, cat. 66); in The Velvet Underground | An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 68); in The Velvet Underground | New York Art (p. 121). Two versions of this poster exist with only very minor differences (the figures around MOD are not present on alternate version).

Ticket.

November 3, 1966
Music Hall Ballroom, Cincinnati, Ohio

1241 Elm St, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Google Maps

The Exploding Plastic Inevitable

Music Hall Ballroom was originally the old Topper Club.

Flyer: made of plastic with clear lettering . 8½ x 5½ inch. It states that it is "designed by Brody". Reproduced in c/o The Velvet Underground catalogue (p. 33); in The Velvet Underground | New York Art (p. 133).

Newspaper articles:

• Cincinnati Will Host 'Happening'
  in Lexington Herald (Kentucky), October 9, 1966 (p. 74).
  "Lights ... films ... sounds ... music ... dancing .. the Velvet Underground ... Nico ... a pair of dancers .. a candle .. two whips ...a candy bar ... a violin .. a pop bottle .. movies. | These are props Andy Warhol uses when he brings his entire New York show to Cincinnati at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3 at Music Hall's Topper Club. | The show, entitled "The Exploding Plastic Inevitable," features the Velvet Underground, a far-out folkrock group, and Nico, the longhaired, deep-voiced German model. The Contemporary Arts Center is sponsoring the show. | To better facilitate the Warhol production and give viewers the relaxed, informal atmosphere (...)".
• Warhol At the Topper Nov 3rd
  by Larry Patterson in University of Cincinnati News Record, October 27, 1966 (p. 18).
• 'Plastic' Bang Defeans Critic
  in The Edgecliff (student newspaper), Vol. XXXII No. 3, November 22, 1966 (p. 3).
  Edgecliff Student Newspaper
  

Ads:

• in University of Cincinnati News Record, October 27, 1966 (p. 27).
• in University of Cincinnati News Record, November 3, 1966 (p. 19).

Reviews: Something Was Inevitable by Doug Snyder in What Goes On fanzine, issue #5. Also in Cincinnati Sunday Pictorial Enquirer, January 8, 1967:

"THE SCENE: The room is huge, dark, crowded. Pinpoints of colored light dart from around the walls, reflected from a mosaic-mirrored ball that hangs from the ceiling. At the far side of the room, on stage, is the Velvet Underground, polka-dotted, pinstriped, booted, wide-belted, dark-spectacled musicians. With them, twisting, turning, leaping, getting the message, is dancer Gerard Malanga. Walking among the tables toward the stage is Nico, tall, casual, stunning in black velvet pea jacket and loose-legged lavender pants. THE SCREEN: Behind the Underground, three films are projected simultaneously on the same screen. Sharing the screen at various time, are members of the Underground sitting at tables and standing along a wall, a pair of lips, Nico's profile, Gerard's staring face, two men binding another to a chair, an ear. Like most home movies, the films are intimate, jerky from the hand-helded camera, and made up of disconnected images. Unlike most home movies, they are way out. THE SOUND: At first it is the amplified throb of single, disconnected guitar notes. Thirty minutes later these have been resolved to a rythm. Soon after come drummer, guitarist, singer and violinist, and the result is a resounding folk rock. MAKING IT HAPPEN: Feeling the beat, casting his gyrating shadow on the screen behind, giving off his own light flashes from a rhinestone necklace, making it all happen, is Gerard. He works with a bullwhip, sliding it along the floor, cracking it in the air with a choreographic frenzy. HAPPEN?: What happened at the happening was a high gear bombardment of sound, lights, movement, and constantly changing images. ...Whether anyone was turned on or off by the event, whether anything happened besides the happening itself is beside the point. Dig?"

November 4, 1966
Valley Dale Ballroom, Columbus, Ohio

1590 Sunbury Rd, Columbus, OH 43219
Google Maps | Streetview

Ads: all the same in University Student Newspaper The Ohio State Lantern, October 28 (p. 8), November 1 (p. 2), November 3 (p. 2), November 4 , 1966 (p. 7).
The Lantern Online Archive

Press articles:

• Warhol to Appear
  in The Ohio State Lantern, October 31, 1966 (p. 7).
  The Lantern Online Archive
• Warhol's Show Is Friday Night
  by David G. Brown
  in The Ohio State Lantern, November 3, 1966 (p. 7).
  The Lantern Online Archive

Review: Something Was Inevitable by Doug Snyder with photos by Al Brandenberger in What Goes On fanzine issue number 5.

Photos: by Al Brandenberger. 4 shots available in What Goes On fanzine issue number 5.

Audio: audience recording, 105 minutes. Taped by Dick Felton. It also circulates under false pretenses as "Lawrence, Kansas, 1966" or "Cleveland, 4/11/66". After many years of bootlegging, this recording has been officially released in October 2012 as part of The Velvet Underound & Nico - 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition 6-CD set.

Doug Snyder: "This time one of us - Dick Felton - took a tape recorder. (...) Their equipment manager Dave Faison helped us with an extension cord for our mono recorder. (...) The tape Dick made of the concert ends with him saying, "I'm scared to play it back. I really am." Dick's tape has been bootlegged many times over the years - but never by him. The best known boot is Velvet Underground 1966, which was put out by Bernd Baierschmidt. The LP had Melody Laughter on one side, and The Nothing Song on the other - but were just called "side one" and "side two". Bernd's girlfriend was the mysterious cover girl. Bernd died as the result of a motorcycle crash a couple years later, so I can tell this about him. He had been the one to see the Velvets before the rest of us - probably before anyone else in Ohio, and for years was the cultural arbitrer of Cincinnati from his perch at Kidd's Books. (...) A few months after the EPI came to Ohio, Bernd Baierschmidt and Dick Felton took the Valleydale tape to New York. They called the Factory and asked for Andy. The voice said, "This Is Andy." They took Andy Warhol the tape, and he made a copy."

Sources: 1966 LP (1, 9), The Warlocks/The Falling Spikes LP (2-8), Legend LP (2, 3, 5, 6), Songs Of Cave CD (2-8), Down For You Is Up LP & CD (2-8), A Symphony Of Sound 2-LP (1 - excerpt), Live In Columbus CDs part 1 & 2 (1-9), EPI/1966 2-CD (1-9), Move Back! 2-CD (1-9), Caught Between The Twisted Stars 4-CD (1-9), Move Back! 2006 Remastered (1-9), The Velvet Underground & Nico - 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition 6-CD (1-9).

1. Melody Laughter (28:26)
2. Femme Fatale (3:43)
3. Venus In Furs (4:53)
4. The Black Angel's Death Song (5:28)
5. All Tomorrow's Parties (7:25)
6. I'm Waiting For The Man (4:32)
7. Heroin (8:57)
8. Run Run Run (8:51)
9. The Nothing Song (32:00)

November 5, 1966
MountainLair, Morgantown, West Virginia

West Virginia University, Maiden Ln, Morgantown, WV 26505
Google Maps | Wikipedia

The Exploding Plastic Inevitable

Poster: reproduced in The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 120)

Audio: tape listed in What Goes On fanzine, Best of 1&2 issue, 15 minutes (incomplete), C+. Status: unconfirmed, uncirculated.

November 6, 1966
Masonic Auditorium, Cleveland, Ohio

3615 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44115
Google Maps

The Exploding Plastic Inevitable

Press article: Plastic Inevitable to explode here in Plain Dealer, October 30, 1966 (p. 162): "Lights, films, sounds, music, dancing, the Velvet Underground, a pair of dancers, a candle, two whips, a candy bar, a violin and a pop bottle! | Is it a "conjuror's dream of the pop world" or "super-Kolossal-Kinetic Karma." No, it's Andy Warhol's "The Exploding Plastic Inevitable," which will play the Masonic Auditorium next Sunday at 8 p.m. | Warhol, a nationally publicized leader of the pop art set, in this "happening" utilizes fantastic lights and sounds, and his underground movies are reflected on the walls surrounding the audience. | On hand will be Nico, a long-haired deep voice German model, and a far-our rock-group. The auditorium will set up so that spectators may get up and dance when the spirit moves them."

Ads: "BELKIN PRODUCTION PRESENTS | IN PERSON | ANDY | WARHOL | WITH HIS | SMASH N.Y. SCENE | THE | EXPLODING | PLASTIC | INEVITABLE | Featuring | THE VELVET UNDERGROUND | & | NICO | As Featured In Life Magazine"

• in The Plain Dealer, October 16, 1966 (p. 179).
• in The Plain Dealer, October 23, 1966 (p. 175).
• in Case Tech (Student Newspaper of Case Institute of Technology), Vol. 62, No. 7, Friday, Oct. 28, 1966 (p. 6).
  Case Western Reserve University | Kevin Smith Library | Student Newspaper Archive
• in Reserve Tribune, 63 year - No. 9, Friday, Oct. 28, 1966 (p. 4).
  Case Western Reserve University | Kevin Smith Library | Student Newspaper Archive
• in The Plain Dealer, October 30, 1966 (p. 159).
  Reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 70).
• in Baldwin-Wallace Exponent (Baldwin Wallace University student newspaper, Berea, Ohio), Volume LIII, Number 5, October 28, 1966 (p. 3).
  Baldwin Wallace University
• in Case Tech (Student Newspaper of Case Institute of Technology), Vol. 62, No. 8, Friday, Nov. 4, 1966 (p. 6). Same issue has the show listed in Coming Up section (p. 5).
  Case Western Reserve University | Kevin Smith Library | Student Newspaper Archive
• in The Plain Dealer, November 6, 1966 (p. 155): this one says "TONIGHT".

Review: What Happened? NOTHING! by Stan Anderson in Cleveland Press, November 11, 1966 (p. 3, 1-page with photos by Bernie Noble).

John Cale: "We worked the Masonic Hall in Columbus Ohio. A huge place filled with people drinking and talking. We tuned up for about ten minutes, tuning, fa-da-da, up, da-da-da, down. There's a tape of it. Played a whole set to no applause, just silences."
[in Shards of Velvet Afloat in London by Robert Greenfield in Rolling Stone magazine, February 18, 1971]

November 12, 1966
McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

The Exploding Plastic Inevitable | McMaster Arts Festival

Mentioned in Up-tight | The Velvet Underground Story (p. 65).

Also in Hamilton Babylon: A History of the McMaster Film Board by Stephen Boomer (2016)
Exploding Plastic Inevitable and the Velvet Underground are mentioned on pages 36-37
In the notes of the book: (65) A more extensive and colourful account of this experience [about smuggling Nico without passport into Canada] is given in Peter Rowe's memoir 'Adventures in Filmmaking' (2013, Pinewood, Toronto)

Press article:

• FLOWING LOCKS TOP SOLO CHOREOGRAPHY
  in Globe and Mail (Toronto), November 14, 1966
  This edition of the Globe And Mail features a photo of Gerard Malanga, with the following short text: "FLOWING LOCKS TOP SOLO CHOREOGRAPHY | Gerard Malanga bursts into an orgiastic solo dance on Saturday night at the way-out arts festival happening at MacMaster University entitled Exploding Plastic Inevitable"
  
• Off-beat Pop Packs A Wallop | Man, Like He Saw, But What?
  in Hamilton Spectator, Monday, Nov. 14, 1966
  by Stewart Brown, Pictures (x3) by R. Michael Hanley
  "From Greenwich Village New York pop artist Andy Warhol's "Exploding Plastic Inevitable" opened the 19th McMaster Arts Festival Saturday in the campus gymnasium. Here's the blow-by-blow notebook account from one reporter who went, saw and was not conquered."
• The Warhol Happening
  by Barry Hale, in Toronto Telegram, November 14, 1966.
• [title to be determined]
  in Toronto Star, [date to be determined]
  by Gail Dexter
  "The films are simple enough–The Underground and Edie [Sedgwick] and NICO and lots of black leather projected on a huge screen to intense rhythmic noise. The action builds to a sado-masochistic climax and then The Underground comes on stage.
  The group plays with a persistent heavy beat so loud that the floor of the new gym vibrates, and they play for two hours with lights, films, and optical patterns flashing behind them. Songs like “Heroin” (it’s my life and it’s my wife) to which Gerard simulates a fix, and “Death Song for Hell’s Angels” (shiny, shiny, shiny leather, whiplash girl-child in the dark) through which the dancer flagellates himself.
  But NICO is the star. She’s tall and blond and beautiful in a remote northern way. She played herself in Fellini’s Dolce Vita and now she sings with the Underground; and, in her singing, she projects a tragic awareness that becomes almost painful. Her final number, “If I’m late, will you wait for me?” holds the audience enthralled for a half-hour.
  And that was one of the problems: The audience, about 800 students, just sat there stunned for three hours. They were supposed to dance but the gym is so big that only a few couples were sufficiently exhibitionist to try–but they went wild. A one-time McMaster student, Charlotte Kennedy, just ran up on the stage and started dancing with Gerard. He flashed lights on her and cavorted for the cameramen."
• Velvet Underground in Hamilton
  by Barry Lord in artscanada no.105, February 1967
  3-page article on the Velvet underground performing at McMaster University in Hamilton Ontario Canada with 10 photos by Ian MacEachern of the EPI including Gerard Malanga, Nico and Sterling Morrison.
  text was reprinted in Up-tight | The Velvet Underground Story (p. 65).
  article reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 106-108).

Photos: Ian MacEachern (see above). Available in The Velvet Underground | An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (6 b&w photos, p. 70-71). More available at Ian MacEachern | Photography website.
Ian MacEachern | Photography

November 14, 1966
unknown venue, Toronto, Canada

Tape: listed in What Goes On | Best of 1&2 fanzine, 35 minutes (incomplete), B-. Status: unconfirmed, uncirculated.

Press article: The Warhol Happening by Barrie Hale in Toronto Telegram, November 14, 1966.

November 17-20, 1966
Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum, Highland Park, Michigan

1120 W State Fair Ave, Highland Park, MI 48203
Google Maps | Wikipedia

Dick Clark "Caravan of Stars Tour"

Mentioned in Up-tight - The Velvet Underground Story (p. 65). Hosted by Dick Clark, the Velvet Underground played on the same bill with the Yardbirds. This show is also documented in the book Yardbirds by Chris Dreja and Jim McCarty. The book confirms that the Yardbirds covered Waiting For My Man on stage.

November 20, 1966
Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum, Highland Park, Michigan

1120 W State Fair Ave, Highland Park, MI 48203
Google Maps | Wikipedia

The Carnaby Street Fun Festival - The World's First Mod Wedding Happening

Poster: 20 x 17½ inch. Reproduced in Peel Slowly And See booklet (p. 23); in The Velvet Underground | An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 72); in The Velvet Underground & Nico | 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition 6CD (p. 29).

Press release: New Worlds Inc. press release titled Pop Goes The Wedding, dated 20 November, 1966 (5pp.).

Invitation: 8x10½in. (20x17cm.) printed invitation to The Nation's First Mod Wedding To Unite Two Typical Mod Teenagers In The Bonds of Holy Matrimony.

Announcement : in Detroit Free Press, November 18, 1966 (p. 19) : "We have the honour of requesting your most gracious presence at an event of great and far reaching social significance | The Nation's First Mod Wedding | To unite two typical teenagers in the Bonds of Holy Matrimony | With the added presence of ANDY WARHOL, the VELVET UNDERGROUND and NICO in their first appearance in Detroit. | The event is scheduled to take place in the Michigan State Fair Grounds Coliseul, during the Carnaby Street Fun Festival, This Sunday, November 20th at 2 P.M."

Press articles:

• Warhol Here for Mod Wedding
  in The Fifth Estate (Detroit) vol. 1 no. 18, November 15-30, 1966.
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 74).
• Andy Warhol, The Exploding Inevitable
  in The Detroit News, November 17, 1966.
• A New Couple Opts For a Mod Wedding
  in Detroit Free Press, November 19, 1966 (p. 12).
• A Mod Pair Joined in Holy Matrimony
  by Van Sauter in Detroit Free Press, November 21, 1966 (p.3), with one photo by Jerry Heiman.
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 75).
• Mod wedding in Detroit wierd affair
  in New Castle News, November 21, 1966.
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 75).
• Gogo Dancer, Artist Take Vows | Mod Wedding Is Held At Fairgrounds
  in Lubbok Avalanche-Journal (TX), November 21, 1966 (p. 37).
• Mother's Mod Lament
  by Linda LaMarre, in The Detroit News, November 21, 1966
  reprinted in All Yesterdays' Parties - The Velvet Underground In Print 1966-1971 (p. 34-36).
• A Celebrity In Detroit | Andy Warhol
  by Ellen Goodman, in Detroit Magazine, January 15, 1967, with 2 photos (Nico, Andy Warhol) by Fred Plofchan.
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 93).

The mother of bride Randy Rossi: "This is not exactly the wedding I had planned for my daughter."
[A Mod Pair Joined in Holy Matrimony, in Detroit Free Press, November 21, 1966]

Photos: in Alan E. Abrams (press agent/public relation consultant for Motown records) papers at Bentley Historical Library University of Michigan: "One folder of photographs (and one scrapbook folder) documents the Carnaby Street Fun Festival and "The World's First Mod Wedding," promoted by Abrams and sponsored by the Borman Brothers' Food Fair stores. The event took place at the Michigan State Fairgrounds, Nov. 20, 1966, and featured Andy Warhol (painting paper dresses), Gerard Malanga (performing a whip dance), and music by the Velvet Underground with Lou Reed and Nico. Abrams prepared captions for most of the photos, which are included in a separate folder."
Bentley Historical Library University of Michigan

December 4, 1966
Action House, Island Park, New York

50 Austin Blvd, Island Park, NY 11558
Google Maps

Night Beat Magazine presents Freak Out '66

Poster: 13 x 10½ inch double sided poster. Reproduced in The Velvet Underground - New York Art (p. 177).

Handbill.

Alternate handbill: 11 x 8 inch.

Photos: by Tim Boxer. Available in:
Getty Images

• Studio Voice Vol. 224, August 1994 (1 b&w, p. 54)
• MOJO 104, July 2002 (p. 117)
• White Light/White Heat - The Velvet Underground Day-By-Day book (1 b&w photo, p. 122)

December 6, 1966
WBAI, New York, New York

Open Hour - "Andy Warhol: A Hemi-Demi-Semi Happening"

Announcement: in Radio section in New York Times, December 6, 1966 (p. 95): "with Andy Warhol, pop artist, Ingrid Superstar, International Velvet and other figures in the Velvet Underground."

December 6, 1966
Methodist Student Center, Austin, Texas

NOW WE ARE ALL ONE

Film screening - no evidence that the band was actually there.

Announcement: in The Rag, December 5, 1966 (probably Volume 1, Issue 9). The Rag was a campus underground newspaper published by students at the University of Texas at Austin in the 1960s and 1970s.

December 10-11, 1966
YMHA Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

401 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Google Maps

Philadelphia Art Festival

Poster: letter press on coated poster board, 22 x 12 inch (55.9 x 30.2 cm). Reproduced in Andy Warhol - 365 Takes (take #43); in Warhol Live catalogue (p. 152, cat. 69); in The Velvet Underground | New York Art (p. 134).

"A mixed-media discotheque complete with Andy Warhol and underground films.
First there'll be different underground films each night, then Andy Warhol, himself, and his rock group, The Velvet Underground And Nico. Then they flash lights on you and everything and turn you into wallpaper. Then you're supposed to go out of your mind. The critics aren't wild about this but only the Arts Council has the nerve to do it".

Ad: same as poster, in Philadelphia Enquirer, December 4, 1966. Reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 83).

Press articles:

• A Warhol 'Happening' In YMHA Auditorium
  in Philadelphia Enquirer, December 4, 1966.
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 82).
• Art Council sets Weekend bill of Underground films
  in Philadelphia Enquirer, December 4, 1966.
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 83).

Reviews:

• Andy Warhol: Pop Goes Fizzle | Underground Happens in Philadelphia With Little Fallout
  by John Lombardi, in The Courier Post, December 12, 1966.
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 85).
• Warhol 'Happening' Hits Like a Noisy Bomb
  by Judy Altman in Philadelphia Daily News, December 12, 1966 - with 2 photographs by Elwood P. Smith, one of Nico holding her son Ari. The article mentions shows in Washington, Boston, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Morgantown W. Va.
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 86); reprinted in All Yesterdays' Parties | The Velvet Underground In Print 1966-1971 (p. 37-39).
• Handy Andy
  in Women's Wear Daily, December 13, 1966.
  reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 87).

Photos: by Nat Finkelstein in Les Inrockuptibles Hors Série | The Velvet Underground (p. 48-49, 68); in MOJO 124, March 2004 (p. 66).

Maureen: I remember one show in particular, at the Jewish YMCA at the Philadelphia Art Festival. Each artist was supposed to bring something representing his art. Everybody brought their two little pictures except Andy - he brought us, these 13 freaks.

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last modified: January 15, 2024

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