The Velvet Forum

hkmartin wrote:Sister Ray sounded pretty baked - makes me wonder if they performed it while Nico was still in the band.

Just out of curiosity, what do you mean by that?

feelingfresh wrote:

hkmartin wrote:Sister Ray sounded pretty baked - makes me wonder if they performed it while Nico was still in the band.

Just out of curiosity, what do you mean by that?

I'm not sure what hkmartin meant by that either, but I'm going to try and tackle the question of whether "Sister Ray" was performed with Nico still in the band. The evidence seems to point to "no".

The first documented performance of "Sister Ray" is the April 30, 1967, show at The Gymnasium; this is included on the Gymnasium bootleg that surfaced in 2008. Nico had been in and out of the band a few times by this point, but it seems her final appearance with the Velvets was one of the Gymnasium shows earlier in the month, somewhere between April 14 and 16 -- if she even appeared at those shows. Some of those involved recall that she didn't make these Gymnasium shows at all, having started her solo shows at the Dom by this point.

The original print ads for this series of April shows at The Gymnasium advertised "Andy Warhol presents Nico and The Velvet Underground", but the ads that started to run mid-month just list "The Velvet Underground".

BUT...bobbldr on this forum, in 2008, claimed to have heard a tape from either the March 31 show or April 1 show at the Rhode Island School of Design. He said:

bobbldr wrote:"There is a tape of the Velvets playing at the RI School of Design in 1967. I have heard it, though that was approximately 30 years ago. The owner of the tape used to tape concerts that were held in the Providence area. It was on a 7" tape reel. I remember the tape well, it was from the White Light/White Heat period and was very clear with a great Sister Ray"

Nico was apparently still with the group at this point (late March/early April). The ads for the Rhode Island shows list Nico in large letters and The Velvet Underground in smaller type, lending credence to the theory she was still with the band then. But ads exist for March 31 shows at both the Rhode Island School of Design and The Gymnasium in NYC, casting some doubt on the Rhode Island shows having happened on these dates.

Conflicting print ads, and memories of uncirculating bootleg tapes last heard in the late 1970s, seem to be the only evidence of "Sister Ray" being performed pre-April 30, 1967.

So it's possible they performed "Sister Ray" with Nico in tow, but the earliest performance of the song that can be verified via circulating tape is that April 30 show, when Nico was already out of the band and performing solo.

Thanks for your contribution.

I have no idea whether they ever played it live with Nico, but the evolution of Sister Ray started during the Lou-and-Nico-free shows at Poor Richards in Chicago in June '66. The notes on the Gymnasium LP say it was performed for the first time on that night. I don't think that's true, but on the Cale radio interview when the noisier version of Guess I'm Fallin In Love was first heard, he says that the Gym gig was "right after Nico went"....

The following image doesn't appear in the footage, does it? It's just a photograph...

^^^^^
I made a close examination of the film at the time to try to get the clear shots of the band from the footage - this is a compilation i made.

Good work! I had planned to do this too, but never got around to it. My fave is bottom right - Lou and Sterl concentrating hard.

I came across this picture among others on a tumblr about VU. BTP 67.Well as first glimpse looks actually the place,but there was no more EPI at that gig,so what means that cloth-screen on stage,maybe got Andy the chance to proyect out his fims as a separate event that night.I'm totally messed up...is really a BTP picture taken from backwards ??

I came across this picture among others on a tumblr about VU. BTP 67.Well as first glimpse looks actually the place,but there was no more EPI at that gig,so what means that cloth-screen on stage,maybe got Andy the chance to proyect out his fims as a separate event that night.I'm totally messed up...is really a BTP picture taken from backwards ??

This picture looks like its taken from a Tony Conrad gig.

papaya wrote:

I came across this picture among others on a tumblr about VU. BTP 67.Well as first glimpse looks actually the place,but there was no more EPI at that gig,so what means that cloth-screen on stage,maybe got Andy the chance to proyect out his fims as a separate event that night.I'm totally messed up...is really a BTP picture taken from backwards ??

This picture looks like its taken from a Tony Conrad gig.

Papaya's right. The sheeting and the silhouette are TC's signature. It was a gig at St.Giles in the Fields, London 2007

http://www.flickr.com/photos/goodnight_ ... otostream/