Hi,

in March i am going to see john cale in concert. now i wanted to ask you guys if some of you have seen him and can tell me a little bit about their experience.what was it like ?
thank you.

michael

I have about ten of his post Velvets solo albums and love the best of them, including the classic "Paris 1919" (1973, just reissued in the UK) and the three collected on "The Island Years" (covering 1974-75). Ron Wood, btw, plays guitar on 1972's "The Academy In Peril," when both were signed to Warner Bros. And Cale's two most recent albums beat anything his former partner Lou Reed has done in 23 years. My very first club show, at age 17 was seeing Cale at the Rat (Boston) in '77 or '78, and it was astonishing to see an idol up close for the fist time after spending my youth in arenas and theatres...Cale played an eclectic set from all stages of his career. I've seen him a couple more times since, once with a overly bombastc hard rock backup, another time an exquisite near unplugged gig, so I don't know what he's likely to do live at this stage. Anything specified? He has done 'solo' shows as well.

I saw him last year and was pleasantly surprised. He played a very rocking set (by Cale standards) which lasted over two hours, was very animated and his band was awesome. I´d love to see him again this year but unfortunately, I can´t go.

Gimme Shelter Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi,
>
> in March i am going to see john cale in concert.
> now i wanted to ask you guys if some of you have
> seen him and can tell me a little bit about their
> experience.what was it like ?
> thank you.
>
> michael


I've seen John Cale nine times. The first time was in 1984 on the Caribbean Sunset/Comes Alive tour, and he was great, the last time was last January at the Garage (a small venue - maybe about 300-500 people), and he was superb. He seems to get better the older he gets.

Expect a fairly intense, but controlled performance. Very tight, well-drilled band. And look out for the superb Femme Fatale/Rose Garden of Sores medley.

The gigs I wished I'd seen were the shows he played across the US between 1979 and 1980. Check out the Sabotage Live album from that era.

john r Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have about ten of his post Velvets solo albums
> and love the best of them, including the classic
> "Paris 1919" (1973, just reissued in the UK) and
> the three collected on "The Island Years"
> (covering 1974-75). Ron Wood, btw, plays guitar on
> 1972's "The Academy In Peril," when both were
> signed to Warner Bros. And Cale's two most recent
> albums beat anything his former partner Lou Reed
> has done in 23 years. My very first club show, at
> age 17 was seeing Cale at the Rat (Boston) in '77
> or '78, and it was astonishing to see an idol up
> close for the fist time after spending my youth in
> arenas and theatres...Cale played an eclectic set
> from all stages of his career. I've seen him a
> couple more times since, once with a overly
> bombastc hard rock backup, another time an
> exquisite near unplugged gig, so I don't know what
> he's likely to do live at this stage. Anything
> specified? He has done 'solo' shows as well.

No, he's playing with a young band at the moment. He's touring the UK now. Tends to play very small venues.

Does he have a new disk out? The last one I have is BLACK ACETATE (which was very good).

Glam Descendant Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Does he have a new disk out? The last one I have
> is BLACK ACETATE (which was very good).


There's a great new live album out in February called Live Circus. Highly recommended. Black Acetate was superb wasn't it? Outta The Bag was great - John singing in a FALSETTO!

michael, Cale is a tremendous live performer, one of my favorite musicians. Very moody and intense, as others have said. His current band rocks very hard, but there are some ballads, and certainly many of his albums have been delicate, even some classical compositions. He often does a Velvet Underground number--he's probably played "Waiting for the Man" more times than Lou Reed, but on the last tour, he opened with a great version of "Venus in Furs." enjoy...

john r Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ron Wood, btw, plays guitar on
> 1972's "The Academy In Peril,"

and Lowell George is on "Paris 1919"

First time I saw Cale was in '76 at the Roxy, doing a few songs in the middle of Patti Smith's set. He played "I Keep A Close Watch" solo at the piano.

People were talking.

Idiots.

thank you !!! i will let you know, what it was like.

Shepherds Bush in 2003 or 4. The queues were for the seats, only 20 people queing for the floor. Got front row middle. Great show, i recorded it and one day I'll get around to putting it out.

john r Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And Cale's two most recent
> albums beat anything his former partner Lou Reed
> has done in 23 years.


Nope. That can't be since Lou Reed has made "New York" in the last 23 years. John Cale didn't beat that one.

JumpingKentFlash

Lou's last great CD - Songs For Drella with John Cale !

Haven't played any thing that recent by Cale, probably Songs For Drella. Love Sabotage and Paris 1919. There was a 2CD called Seducing Down The Door by Cale a few years ago covering 1970-90, a good place to start.

He is playing with young groups and dping some small venues, I saw him in Tenerife a Tribute to Leonard Cohen with Jackson Browne and other greats names, he put all auditorium up, he and his piano are ready to rock!

Actually the best place to start, for rock fans, is the Island Years 3-CD set. 3 terrific albums done in 1974-76, plus a couple of unreleased tracks from the sessions.