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

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

Factory rehearsals

Tape: The tape was recorded by Andy Warhol just a week after the German actress Nico had arrived in America. The tape features what may have been her first musical collaboration with the Velvet Underground. The tape 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 four months 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Sources: All Tomorrow's Parties: Remembering the Velvet Underground CD (3-9, 12, 14-16) [unpublished], At Andy Warhol Museum CD (4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 14-16), At The Factory – Warhol Tapes CD (3-9, 12, 14-16), Dispatches From The Dream Factory 3-CD Disc 1 (3, 8, 12,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)

On the same day Andy Warhol and The Velvet Underground ("Warhol's jazz group") appeared at the opening of the Roosevelt Raceway track 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).

Sterling: "We moved all of our equipement to the Factory, this was in '66. That was our clubhouse. It was the greatest place to be you could imagine. Everybody went through there. The phone would be ringing all day with the party invitations. That was the talk of the night: where you were going to and which parties you were going to and in what order. That was what we did for years."
Up From The Underground by Bill Bentley, The Texas Sun, October 30, 1975, p. 18

Sterling: "It sounds crazy, but on reflection I've decided that he [Andy Warhol] was never wrong. He gave us confidence to keep doing what we were doing."
The Lost History of The Velvet Underground by Mary Harron, New Musical Express, April 26, 1981, p. 28

Sterling: "I didn't appreciate what we were doing. I never considered what it meant to be doing something with Andy Warhol and seing all those weird people marching by and hanging around the loft. I just worried about little songs and how well they were played."
The Lost History of The Velvet Underground by Mary Harron, New Musical Express, April 26, 1981, p. 29

Sterling: "We used to practice at the Factory and hang out there everyday for a couple of years, from '66 to '68. We would arrive sometimes in the afternoon and everyday would begin with the same question: 'What party should we go to tonight?'. A thousand, thousand parties… reflected on from a distance, they were almost unimaginable. Real high rolling affairs, with a lot of energetic depravity going on. We even went to one with Nelson Rockefeller. I thought if Delmore could see me now!"
The Lost History of The Velvet Underground by Mary Harron, New Musical Express, April 26, 1981, p. 29

Sterling: "Andy suggested we use Nico as a vocalist. She'd made a couple of singles withAndrew Loog Oldham in London and one of them was not bad—sort of like early Marianne Faithfull. So we said fine, she looks great, and just gradually tried to work her in.
There were problems from the very beginning because there were only so many songs that were appropriate for Nico and she wanted to sing them all—'Waiting For The Man', 'Heroin', all of them. And she would try and do little sexual politic things in the band. Whoever seemed to have undue influence on the course of events, you'd find Nico close by. So she went from Lou to Cale, but neitherof those affairs lasted for very long."
The Lost History of The Velvet Underground by Mary Harron, New Musical Express, April 26, 1981, p. 29

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: Thirty-eight seconds of footage of Andy Warhol with the Velvet Underground and Nico at the Delmonico Hotel is included in two films by Jonas Mekas: Diaries, Notes, and Sketches, also known as Walden (1969), and Scenes from the Life of Andy Warhol (1990). This footage has been featured in several documentaries. The soundtrack features the Velvet Underground performing live at the Dom in the spring of 1966.

Audio: The Winter 2025 issue (Issue 19) of the US magazine Maggot Brain (Third Man Records & Books, Detroit, MI) features a detailed article by Tyler Wilcox on the Velvet Underground’s live recordings. On page 22 is a photograph spanning two-thirds of a page of a reel of magnetic tape, captioned as follows: "What if I told you that this spool of reel-to-reel tape contains a recording of the band performing at a psychiatrist's convention in the ballroom to the Delmonico Hotel in New York City on Jan. 14, 1966, and appears here courtesy of a collector who chooses to remain anonymous?". Nevertheless, it should be noted that the exact same photo (without the caption) can be found online on the “Preservation Self-Assessment Program” website, described as follows: “¼-inch open-reel audiotape with a crinkled leader.” Is this coincidentally the tape in question, or is the photo published by "Maggot Brain" merely illustrative? Without further information, it seems reasonable to question the actual existence of this recording.

Press articles:

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."
Lou Reed | Cash For Question by Tom Doyle, in Q 164, May 2000

January 1966
The Phone Booth, New York, New York

152 E 55th St, New York, NY 10022

Press articles:

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). It includes Venus in Furs, Heroin, European Son, and others (unfortunately, they are not listed). The tape was dated "February 6" but this is probably a mistake, as the flyer advertise for an engagement from February 8-13.
Sources:
- 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 :
  - Up-tight | The Velvet Underground Story (1 b&w photo, p. 10)
  - MOJO 63, February 1999 (2 b&w photos, p. 55 & 60)
  - The Velvet Underground | An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (p. 48)
  - Lou Reed | Les Coffrets Cultes (1 b&w 240x280 mm photo on 300 gram coated paper)
  - Fred W. McDarrah | New York Scenes, Abrams Book, 2018 (6 photos b&w, p. 126).
• Adam Ritchie:
  - 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)
  - The Velvet Underground – An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild Side (1 b&w photo, p. 96-97)
  - The Velvet Underground – New York Art (p. 60, 61, 62 [top], 63)
  - 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]).

Sterling: "Then after seing us Andy wined and dined us. He had booked two weeks at the Cinematheque and wanted to have dancing and films and he also wanted a band. He knew we had all these strange songs and a strange name and asked us to be the band. We said, "What do we have to do?" Andy said, "Just play music." Those nights at the Cinematheque I consider the first performances for a real audience, for people who ultimately were the ones we wanted to reach."
Up From The Underground by Bill Bentley, The Texas Sun, October 30, 1975, p. 13

Sterling: "The dancers could do what they liked, the film people could di whatever they liked, and we could do whatever we liked. The first night we played "Heroin" there two people fainted. That is one of my rock memories. This girl leaped up and started clapping hysterically and then, boom, she'st out. I wasn't sure if it was drugs or emotion. The audiences then were wild; climbing-the-rafters-wild. There was a complete spillover from audience to satge. A lot of people came out of the auidence to go on the superstardom."
Up From The Underground by Bill Bentley, The Texas Sun, October 30, 1975, p. 18

Bibbe Hansen: "I ran into Gerard Malanga, and he said, 'We're doing this performance thing at the Cinematheque tonight, you've got to come and dance'. So I did, and it was a lot of fun. The Velvets were way back on the stage, almost backstage, in the dark as the films were showing. I remember Lou not really performing outwards – it was like they were having a rehearsal, playing for themselves. I remember 'Venus In Furs' very well, but I remember hearing earlier versions of it too. A lot of this is through a drug haze..."
Try For The Kingdom by Tom Pinnock, UNCUT, Take 346, March 2026, p. 90

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 Uptight

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/invitation: There are at least two different versions:

• a light blue one, measuring 3 5/8 x 4 1/8 in, a copy of which was found in Sterling Morrison's scrapbook.
• a red one, offset-printed loose card, measuring 10,5 x 9,2 cm, reproduced in the book 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.

Reviews:

• untitled & uncredited review reproduced in Velvet Underground Scrapbook Volume 1 (p. 4-5).
• Underground Movies: Pop Goes Warhol by Todd Simonds, in The Daily Princetonian, Princeton NJ, March 16, 1966 (p. 1, 3-4)

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).

Andy Warhol's time at Rutgers University is recounted in Popism | The Warhol Sixties by Andy Warhol & Pat Hackett, 1980 (p. 191-192) and in Up-tight | The Velvet Underground Story by Victor Bockris & Gerard Malanga, 1983 (p. 27-28).

Sterling: "At Rutger's we were all dressed entirely in white. The effect, with all the films and lights projected on us, was invisibility."
Up-tight | The Velvet Underground Story
Victor Bockris & Gerard Malanga, 1983, p. 28

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."
Up-tight – The Velvet Underground Story
Victor Bockris & Gerard Malanga, 1983, 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, Vol. XI, No. 23, March 24, 1966 (p. 24), 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.

Review:

Slum Goddess | E.V.O. Ball Report April Fool's Dance, Models' Ball: A true Story
The East Village Other, Volume 1, issue 10, April 15, 1966

"(...) The Velvet Undergound, a manufacture of the '60's shy P.T. Barnum, Andy Warhol provided a three-ring purple circus with flashing lights and whips and sound. With movies on the drum, and each slender one of them dancing in the artificial moonlight. "Oh, yes, I'm having a wonderful time," Andy said sitting in an artificially quiet spot. (...)"

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 stage 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); in Fred W. McDarrah | New York Scenes, Abrams Book, 2018 (3 photos b&w, p. 128-129).
• 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 (Photomontage p. 12, plus p. 1 insert with one photo by Fred W. McDarrah).
  reproduced in The Velvet Underground – New York Art (p. 80); in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 20 & 21).
  APOTHEOSIS OF POP was Andy Warhol weekend which began upstairs at the Dom on Friday evening. The eyes is that of the Velvet Underground. The scene was photogenic, but was it fun?
• 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 (p. 9)
  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).

Sterling: "Anyone in the audience could come up and work the lights. We never had things like 'When I play this ten-second break, then hit me with the blue spot'. That's what I hate about modern rock shows: they're so reglemented. We just played and everything raged around us without any control on our part."
The Lost History of The Velvet Underground by Mary Harron, New Musical Express, April 26, 1981, p. 29

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 of 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:

• 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). Although the article does not credit the photographer, it turns out that Steve Schapiro took this photo, which was later reprinted in the book Andy Warhol and Friends (Taschen, 2024) on page 212.
• 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); in Andy Warhol and Frriends (Taschen, 2024, p. 202-223). More available (including color photos) at gettyimages.com

Press articles:

Cher: "It depressed me. It will replace nothing – except maybe suicide."
Andy Warhol Hit The Sunset Strip, unknown publication, circa May 1966

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

Audio: Gerard Malanga plus Lou Reed and John Cale (of the Velvet Underground) read poetry to the class. 51:24 mp3 file is available at kurtvonmeier.com.

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.

Ad: in San Francisco Chronicle, May 22, 1966: "A HAPPENING-DANCE—Andy Warhol's "The Exploding Plastic Inevitable" takes place Friday, Saturday and next Sunday at Fillmore Auditorium. Featured are The Velvet Underground, Nico the Pop Girl of '66 and The Mothers."

Ad: 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."
Also: "Ad Libs | (...) ... at the Filmore tonight through Sunday night: Andy Warhol and his Plastic Inevitable. The Velvet Underground and The Mothers."

Ad: in Berkeley Barb, Volume 2, Issue 20, May 20, 1966: "BILL GRAHAM presents – from New York via L.A. | A POP-OP-ROCK | ANDY WARHOL and his | 'PLASTIC INEVITABLE' with | THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & | NICO -- "Pop Girlof '66?"..."

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

Film: Clips from a film shot at the Fillmore in late May 1966, which appear to be from the same shoot, are available from two different sources. The clips overlap in part, but each also offers exclusive footage.

Source 1: A 46-second color film clip, shot from the audience, in which Moe Tucker, Sterling Morrison, Nico, and Gerard Malanga appear briefly. This clip appears in the documentary “Further: Ken Kesey's American Dreams” (KQED-TV, 1987). The soundtrack for this clip is not by the Velvet Underground. Note that KRON-TV is credited in the end credits for additional footage.

Source 2: Approximately 1½ minutes long, taken from “KRON-TV news footage from July 3, 1971.” The clip was published in May 2026 under the title “Fillmore West Closes / Velvet Underground at Fillmore Auditorium” on the “Bay Area Television Archive.” The technical details indicate that it is a 16mm color reversal print, with co-magnetic soundtrack. The soundtrack includes brief excerpts from “All Tomorrow's Parties” and “Venus In Furs” performed live by the Velvet Underground at the Fillmore.
https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/241703

Bay Area Television Archive: "We recently scanned a KRON interview with promoter Bill Graham shot on July 3, 1971, just before Fillmore West closed. This 16mm film reel also features gorgeous, color footage of the Velvet Underground & Nico playing live onstage. This was apparently some of the earliest footage taken inside the venue and is a real find.
There's very clear sound of them playing 'Venus in Furs' at one point, briefly. And of Nico singing a song. Just over 1 minute of footage in total and the magnetic audio goes in and out. KRON were clearly filming for several minutes but cut a lot out for their edit. Both Gerard Malanga and Mary Woronov are seen dancing."
Bay Area Television Archive, Facebook, May 18, 1965

Press articles:

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."
The Sizzle That Fizzled by Ralph J. Gleason, The San Francisco Chronicles, May 30, 1966

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.""
Shards of Velvet Afloat in London by Robert Greenfield in Rolling Stone magazine, February 18, 1971

Sterling: "We had a horrible reputation. Everyone figured we were gay. They figured we must be — running around with Warhol and all those whips and stuff."
The Lost History of The Velvet Underground by Mary Harron, New Musical Express, April 26, 1981, p. 29

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."
Up-tight | The Velvet Underground Story by Victor Bockris & Gerard Malanga, 1983, p. 47

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."
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 look back on 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

Lou Reed was absent from these shows due to his hospitalization at Beth Israel Hospital in New York for hepatitis. Nico had left for Ibiza at the beginning of June. Angus MacLise played the drums, Maureen played the bass, and Sterling and John took over the lead vocals. The engagement, originally scheduled from June 21 to 26, was extended through July 3.

The radio schedule published in the press on June 18, 1966, announced Jerry Williams on WBBM at 8 p.m. during prime time. Guest: Andy Warhol, who is bringing his “Exploding Plastic Inevitable” to Chicago, discusses pop culture.

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 24, 1966 (p. 14 - Section 2), 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.
Shards of Velvet Afloat in London by Robert Greenfield
Rolling Stone magazine, February 18, 1971]

Gerard Malanga: The Poor Richard's play-date with the Velvet Underground was a gig that almost never happened, and would go down in someone's history as perhaps the most important gig of all. Lou Reed, our lead guitarist had come down with hepatitis & was in hospital. Nico was nowhere to be found. Years later I would learn that she was on holiday with her mom on the isle of Ibiza. So I took hold of the reigns to make this event come off. I enlisted Angus MacLise, my buddy, into the fold since everyone in the group had to switch roles. He was the original drummer whom Lou Reed had fired. So when Andy, Angus, and I went to visit Lou at Beth Israel Hospital, he was yellow as a canary, and after everything was discussed & agreed to, as we were about to take our leave, Lou turned to Angus & said, "Just remember, this is temporary." So John Cale took up Lou's position in the band and Sterling Morrison moved over to John's place & Moe Tucker took turns with Angus on percussion and Angus taught me how to play tabla. I decided to bring Ingrid Superstar along as my dance partner because everyone at the Factory was mocking her behind her back. Our 5-day gig at Poor Richard's was a total success.
gerard_malanga.official, Instagram, July 1, 2020

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)

June 29, 1966
Playboy Club, Chicago, Illinois

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

According to an obscure ad shown at the Velvet Underground Experience exhibition, the show took place on Wednesday, June 29, 1966, at 12:30 p.m.

Photo: published uncredited in VIP – THE PLAYBOY CLUB MAGAZINE, NO. 11, FALL [1966] issue, subtitled "A recent fashion show-happening at the Windy City warren, sponsored by Mod shop Man 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]

Press articles:

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.

Ad: in The East Village Other, Volume 1, Issue 20, September 15-October 1, 1966.

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
New England Life Hall, Boston, Massachusetts

New England Life Hall
501 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02116
Google Maps

Institute of Contemporary Arts
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.

According to articles published in the Boston Globe on October 16, 1966—announcing the performance—and on November 1, 1966—recounting the events—the show did not take place at the Institute of Contemporary Arts but rather at the New England Life Hall.

As announced in the October 28, 1966 edition of the Boston Record American, a second show was added at 11 p.m. since the show was sold out.

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".

Press articles:

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 clear plastic. Size: 8½ x 5½ inches. 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).

Press articles:

Ads:

• in Cincinnati Enquirer, October 9, 1966.
• in University of Cincinnati News Record, October 27, 1966 (p. 27).
• in University of Cincinnati News Record, November 3, 1966 (p. 19).

Reviews:

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

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".

Press articles:

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."
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:

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.

November 17-20, 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

Mentioned in Up-tight – The Velvet Underground Story (p. 65). The Velvet Underground played on the same bill as the Yardbirds on a show hosted by Dick Clark. This performance is also documented in the book Yardbirds by Chris Dreja and Jim McCarty. The book confirms that the Yardbirds performed a cover of "Waiting for My Man" on stage.

The Arena documentary The Banana (Kate Meynell, BBC, 1997) explores the cultural significance of the banana and features a contribution from John Cale that relates how the band were on a TV programme to promote the All Tomorrow's Parties single. They refused to mime, and instead they apparently sat on some steps eating bananas for the duration of the song, much to the amusement of Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs who were also on. Since John Cale mentions Detroit and Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs were among the bands performing at the Carnaby Street Fun Festival in Detroit in late November 1966, it’s reasonable to assume that this TV appearance took place around the same time as that event.

Press articles:

Sterling: "This was when Jeff Beck was flipping out, when he had a gun in his guitar case. They herded us all onto one floor of one of those motor hotels, with all the record company people and the groupies and the hangers-on. It was bedlam."
The Lost History of The Velvet Underground by Mary Harron, New Musical Express, April 26, 1981, p. 29

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:

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:

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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