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Customer Reviews for Lou Reed

Lou Reed

Read Lou Reed concert reviews and post your own reviews and ratings.

Average rating:

3.2

(25 Reviews) 25

Rating Snapshot (25 reviews)

5 stars

4 stars

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13 of 25(52%)customers would recommend this to a friend.

Lou Reed Fan Reviews - Ticketmaster

Review 1 for Lou Reed

1 / 5

What happened to Rock and Roll?

Wolverhampton Civic Hall @

- wolverhampton @

- 04/07/2011 @

Posted 31/10/2011

by Jase571

Has Lou forgotten all of his amazing songs? Yes he did play several songs everybody enjoyed, but in a frail and unsociable state. As he was playing i just felt like i was watching an poor old man, not a musical genius. He was one of my all time favorite artists but his performance has changed my opinion of he, he was im my eyes inspirational, until i witnessed him live. I feel he has let his fans down.

Wolverhampton Civic Hall @

- wolverhampton @

- 04/07/2011 @

0 of 1 found this review helpful.

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Review 2 for Lou Reed

4 / 5

Masterful

HMV Hammersmith Apollo @

- London @

- Mon 4 Jul 2011 @

Favourite moment: A powerful and spine-tingling performance of Venus in Furs. @

Setlist: Venus in Furs, Sunday Morning, Sweet Jane and many more. @

Opening act(s): An American duo whose name I didn't catch. Brownie points for a very distinctive style, but not really to my taste. @

Posted 23/07/2011

by StephenB

Location:Oxford

Top 10 Contributor

I wouldn't exactly call myself a Lou Reed fan, but obviously I know a lot of things he's done and I couldn't turn down a chance to see someone who helped create the whole genre of rock music, even though it came just after two other concerts, a festival and a day at Wimbledon so I was feeling a teeny bit tired. I wasn't disappointed. Like Paul Simon he had a great band and seemed happy to play his old hits, although sometimes in an unusual arrangement. There was perhaps less of a feel-good factor and I was less familiar with the material, hence only four stars, but this was dramatic stuff, a real masterclass in how to present music live. The only negative was that they messed up the timing - they started late, and at the end it looked as though they were going to do another encore, but they'd run up to 11 pm and I assume the house didn't allow it, so it was a rather disjointed ending. Still he was well worth seeing and I would go again - although I suspect it might well be totally different another time.

HMV Hammersmith Apollo @

- London @

- Mon 4 Jul 2011 @

Favourite moment: A powerful and spine-tingling performance of Venus in Furs. @

Setlist: Venus in Furs, Sunday Morning, Sweet Jane and many more. @

Opening act(s): An American duo whose name I didn't catch. Brownie points for a very distinctive style, but not really to my taste. @

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Review 3 for Lou Reed

4 / 5

Hammersmith Apollo @

- London @

Posted 10/07/2011

by JustMePC

Location:Glasgow

Yes I know - it was The Bells, not Ocean! I still wish he'd played Ocean though!

Hammersmith Apollo @

- London @

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Review 4 for Lou Reed

5 / 5

HMV Hammersmith Apollo @

- London @

- Mon 4 Jul 2011 @

Favourite moment: Sweet Jane, of course, with the intro from Rock n' Roll Animal. @

Posted 08/07/2011

by EdieS

Simply incredible - even from block 5, row U. He's still got it!

HMV Hammersmith Apollo @

- London @

- Mon 4 Jul 2011 @

Favourite moment: Sweet Jane, of course, with the intro from Rock n' Roll Animal. @

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Review 5 for Lou Reed

5 / 5

Another League

Hammersmith HMV Apollo @

- London @

- 04/07/2011 @

Favourite moment: Ecstasy, what intensity! @

Opening act(s): Some truly horrible dont know how to define them dodecaphonic guitar players, horrible, but wh cares, Lou was next. @

Posted 08/07/2011

by Carlo

Location:London

Top 250 Contributor

Another league. An artist in another league. His songs, lyrics, interpretation, acting, miming, the way he expresses what he feels. An ARTIST, a complete genius, like very few others. Mesmerising. Judging the one concert is ever so unfair. Yet, he sang wonderfully, played with intensity, and the band always backing up nicely in spite of his sudden re-arrangements. It was a magic night, almost a Velvet concert, with most songs picked from that era. Seeing Lou is a blessing, I am honoured to have seen him once again, look forward to the next. Magic.

Hammersmith HMV Apollo @

- London @

- 04/07/2011 @

Favourite moment: Ecstasy, what intensity! @

Opening act(s): Some truly horrible dont know how to define them dodecaphonic guitar players, horrible, but wh cares, Lou was next. @

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Review 6 for Lou Reed

4 / 5

Lou Reed @ Apollo

HMV Hammersmith Apollo @

- London @

- Mon 4 Jul 2011 @

Opening act(s): forgettable - good but not a threat to the main act - what were they called? @

Posted 07/07/2011

by spaceminx

Location:London

it was an interesting playlist - definitely not all the "greatest hits" but Sunday Morning had me a tad teary, Femme Fatale was smooth and Sweet Jane friggin ROCKED!!!
Lou has a puku and dodgy legs but still that charisma of cool - so glad i went!!

HMV Hammersmith Apollo @

- London @

- Mon 4 Jul 2011 @

Opening act(s): forgettable - good but not a threat to the main act - what were they called? @

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Review 7 for Lou Reed

5 / 5

The closest Lou will ever get to fan service

HMV Hammersmith Apollo @

- London @

- 04/07/2011 @

Favourite moment: "By now, I love you too!" after we'd cheered him on and some bloke yelled out "We love you, Lou!" 'Venus In Furs,' 'Waves Of Fear' and 'The Bells.'. @

Setlist: Who Loves The Sun, Senselessly Cruel, Temporary Thing, Ecstasy, Smalltown, Mother (Lennon cover), Venus In Furs, Sunday Morning, Sweet Jane, Femme Fatale, Waves Of Fear, (encore:) The Bells @

Opening act(s): Some random duo, I think they were from Brooklyn? Pretty nice music though. @

Posted 07/07/2011

by jayez85

I see some have been disappointed both by the setlist and Reed's stage performance, so let me just make one thing abundantly clear: This tour; these performances are perhaps the closest you - well, any of us - will get to experiencing Lou playing his "best of," or actually singing. If your knowledge of Lou Reed's music barely encompasses "Walk On The Wild Side," "Perfect Day" and maybe "Sunday Morning;" well, going to this concert - or ANY Lou Reed concert for the past (and future) who knows how many years - is going to be nothing but a huge disappointment.

For the rest of us, however, it's like we've all died and gone to heaven and OMG Lou Reed is there and playing all those grand songs! And he's SINGING, too! Not just going all artsy-fartsy spoken word poetry-feedback-noise-fusion jam on us like he usually does! (Sorry Lou, but really. You know I love you, though.)

Lou has been doing a few Velvet numbers as encores and such during the past few years, but I'm pretty sure this must be the first time in decades that he's done so many in one set. Five out of twelve has got to be some sort of record or something, and they were well received, too, perhaps with the exception of "Who Loves The Sun," which was maybe less recognisable, I dunno.

People also seemed to think "Mother" dragged on for too long, and I am inclined to agree; the performance at the Hop Farm two days earlier was more succinct and to the point.
"Ecstasy," however - a song I could take or leave, personally - though seemingly extended a bit compared to the Hop Farm performance, really was astounding in its brilliance and definitely did benefit from further elaboration.

Really, though, the few complaints I've got relate more to the venue and the people in attendance. The Hammersmith Apollo, legendary though it is, doesn't seem to have invested much in airconditioning. I was literally drenched in sweat by the time I got out. Also, I'm generally not thrilled with people who insist on squeezing through entire rows of seats when they're arriving late or need to get more beer. Stop spoiling my concert experience with your selfishness already!

All in all however, it was an amazing concert, which I would definitely recommend to a friend. (At least if said friend liked the "Coney Island Baby," "The Blue Mask," "Rock & Roll Heart" and "The Bells" albums, and like me considered "Perfect Day" to have become so bastardised and muzak-ified as to not being worthy of playing by any artist with the slightest hint of self-respect or integrity.)

HMV Hammersmith Apollo @

- London @

- 04/07/2011 @

Favourite moment: "By now, I love you too!" after we'd cheered him on and some bloke yelled out "We love you, Lou!" 'Venus In Furs,' 'Waves Of Fear' and 'The Bells.'. @

Opening act(s): Some random duo, I think they were from Brooklyn? Pretty nice music though. @

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Review 8 for Lou Reed

3 / 5

Late

Wolverhampton Civic Hall @

- Wolverhampton @

- Fri 1 Jul 2011 @

Posted 07/07/2011

by Anonymous

The show started and ended very late. The sound is poor.

Wolverhampton Civic Hall @

- Wolverhampton @

- Fri 1 Jul 2011 @

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Review 9 for Lou Reed

1 / 5

Lou Reed

HMV Hammersmith Apollo @

- London @

- Mon 4 Jul 2011 @

Favourite moment: Sweet Jane @

Setlist: Who Loves The Sun, Temporary Thing, Ecstasy.Small Town, Mother, Venus In Furs,Sunday Morning, Femme Fatale, Sweet Jane, The Bells @

Opening act(s): Two piece band from Brooklyn @

Posted 07/07/2011

by BigVern2

Location:London

If I didn't like Lou Reed I would'nt have gone, I bought my ticket the minute they went on sale and still got a poor seat. Not that that would have made much difference as this was awful.The support band from Brooklyn were dreadful and Lou then came on at 9.15 and played no more than a dozen songs. His mainly youngish band trashed most songs with an over loud sax and excessive use of the cymbals by the drummer. After about an hour and ten minutes the crowd finally stood up for Sweet Jane. The encore was The Bells. Most songs just went on for too long and much of his back catalogue was just ignored. The Velvets songs Femme Fatal and Venus in Furs were well received. Lou himself seemed frail and stumbled into a chair at one point. I was at his last gig at Hammersmith when he played Berlin and that was just in a different class.

HMV Hammersmith Apollo @

- London @

- Mon 4 Jul 2011 @

Favourite moment: Sweet Jane @

Setlist: Who Loves The Sun, Temporary Thing, Ecstasy.Small Town, Mother, Venus In Furs,Sunday Morning, Femme Fatale, Sweet Jane, The Bells @

Opening act(s): Two piece band from Brooklyn @

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Review 10 for Lou Reed

1 / 5

Reed was forgettable

HMV Hammersmith Apollo @

- London @

- Mon 4 Jul 2011 @

Posted 07/07/2011

by Anonymous

Self indulgent & dull - left after 6 songs when I was clear that he wasn't wasn't going to pander to the desire's of the public to play anything decent!

HMV Hammersmith Apollo @

- London @

- Mon 4 Jul 2011 @

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Review 11 for Lou Reed

2 / 5

lou reed was a little disappointing

HMV Hammersmith Apollo @

- London @

- Mon 4 Jul 2011 @

Favourite moment: accompaning musicians were very good @

Opening act(s): ok @

Posted 06/07/2011

by swan16

Location:swansea

More my partner the fan than i but even he felt that it would have been better had lou sang more of his hits rather than obscure songs.

HMV Hammersmith Apollo @

- London @

- Mon 4 Jul 2011 @

Favourite moment: accompaning musicians were very good @

Opening act(s): ok @

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Review 12 for Lou Reed

5 / 5

Classics from Uncle Lou

HMV Hammersmith Apollo @

- London @

- Mon 4 Jul 2011 @

Favourite moment: Venus in Furs @

Posted 06/07/2011

by JustMePC

Location:Glasgow

Just a privilege to hear these classics from the old master. In some ways a surprising choice of songs, but so good to hear something like Ocean live for the first time (for me). Plenty of memorable moments, not least Venus in Furs. No Heroin, Wild Side, Vicious, Satellite, Waiting for the Man, but still a set full of choice cuts. Just shows the depth to the guy's canon.

HMV Hammersmith Apollo @

- London @

- Mon 4 Jul 2011 @

Favourite moment: Venus in Furs @

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Review 13 for Lou Reed

2 / 5

Lou Reed

HMV Hammersmith Apollo @

- London @

- Mon 4 Jul 2011 @

Favourite moment: See above. @

Posted 06/07/2011

by Jezza234

Location:London

For Lou Reed fanatics only. I could see there were a lot of fans really enjoying themselves, but for me there was too much new material and a lot of that was very repetitive. I got the feeling he was more into sonic layering/texturing than melody and whilst some moments were inspirational - a particular electronic double bass/electric violin duet for example - a lot of it was dull. Very few of the well knowns were on show - no Perfect day, no Walk on the Wild side, no Satellite of love. It reminded me of a Hawkwind concert I went to when they did not play Silver Machine.

HMV Hammersmith Apollo @

- London @

- Mon 4 Jul 2011 @

Favourite moment: See above. @

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Review 14 for Lou Reed

2 / 5

Bit disappointing...

Wolverhampton Civic Hall @

- Wolverhampton @

- Fri 1 Jul 2011 @

Favourite moment: Acoustic Velvet Underground stuff @

Posted 06/07/2011

by NixP

Enjoyed the acoustic interlude, but the rest of it left us a bit underwhelmed. I felt like it was the band playing for each other (or rather playing how Lou told them to) rather than for the audience - found it all rather cold. got some entertainment from watching the drummer though!

Wolverhampton Civic Hall @

- Wolverhampton @

- Fri 1 Jul 2011 @

Favourite moment: Acoustic Velvet Underground stuff @

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Review 15 for Lou Reed

1 / 5

Disappointed

Wolverhampton Civic Hall @

- Wolverhampton @

- Fri 1 Jul 2011 @

Favourite moment: Leaving before the encore and escaping first from the car park. @

Opening act(s): No-show! @

Posted 04/07/2011

by giggoinggirl

Location:Bridgnorth

I really wanted to enjoy this concert, as I'd not had the opportunity to see Lou performing live before and I'd listened to him and Velvet Underground a lot in my youth. The gig was, I believe, billed as a festival warm up......well, Lou was definitely in need of warming up! For someone who has been in the business for decades, I was expecting a far more polished performance, but the first two numbers were, quite frankly, embarrassing, with Lou having to read the lyrics and often losing his timing. Fortunately for Lou, he was carried by his band, who I must say, worked their socks off and delivered some solid musicianship. Lou's contribution improved somewhat as the night went on, but it was a struggle. I came away with the impression that the concert was little more than a rehearsal. His singing delivered too many bum notes and Lou's overall performance failed to live up to my expectations.

Wolverhampton Civic Hall @

- Wolverhampton @

- Fri 1 Jul 2011 @

Favourite moment: Leaving before the encore and escaping first from the car park. @

Opening act(s): No-show! @

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Review 16 for Lou Reed

4 / 5

Uncle Lou still rocks!

Wolverhampton Civic Hall @

- Wolverhampton @

- Fri 1 Jul 2011 @

Posted 04/07/2011

by RocknRollHeart

An hour and a half of raw rock n roll sound. For the most part loud and distorted guitars. There was a brief acoustic set in between where he played Sunday Morning and Femme fatale.
HOWEVER, the show begun with 2 hour delay... Nobody got pissed and Lou played too cool to comment at the beginning. I was expecting Perfect Day and Waiting for my Man, but at least he played Sweet Jane in the encore.
Overall, good gig apart from the huge delay.

Wolverhampton Civic Hall @

- Wolverhampton @

- Fri 1 Jul 2011 @

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Review 17 for Lou Reed

4 / 5

Lou Reed: a gig with a story

Wolverhampton Civic Hall @

- Wolverhampton @

- Fri 1 Jul 2011 @

Favourite moment: Lou Reed's T Shirt @

Setlist: A few: Sweet Jane; All Through the Night; The Bells, Femme Fatale, Venus in Furs etc. @

Opening act(s): none @

Posted 04/07/2011

by Argie

OK, so he was about an hour late on stage, there was slow hand clapping and some abuse when he finally arrived. I was struck by how frail he looked at first; I suppose I have that dark eyed, pale-faced stare fixed in my mind. He struggled through the first few numbers and his attempts at directing the band were thinly concealed attempts to cover nerves and insecurities early on. But he settled a bit, and when he communicated that there would be 'a few mistakes' because it was 'live' music and not on an MP3 or a CD, people sort of got the point and warmed to him. A couple of slower Velvet numbers: Femme Fatale etc. were quite well worked, and the musicians in his band were, as you'd expect, first rate esp' drummer and saxophonist. The crowd were warming to him still further and he relaxed, he even took off his leather jacket. The Lennon cover, 'Mother' was a bit baffling, but at least Lou Reed sang it, he didn't try to mumble his way through the songs, even if he was reading the lyrics off an auto-cue device at his feet. And at times, a thousand moments of my life when Lou Reed's songs and voice were so important to me, made me remember that I was in the presence of an original artist of real originality and charm.

Wolverhampton Civic Hall @

- Wolverhampton @

- Fri 1 Jul 2011 @

Favourite moment: Lou Reed's T Shirt @

Setlist: A few: Sweet Jane; All Through the Night; The Bells, Femme Fatale, Venus in Furs etc. @

Opening act(s): none @

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Review 18 for Lou Reed

1 / 5

Lou Reed was a let down

Wolverhampton Civic Hall @

- Wolverhampton @

- Fri 1 Jul 2011 @

Favourite moment: Guy sitting next to me singing harmonies. @

Setlist: Femme Fatale, Venus in Furs - didn't stay for encore @

Opening act(s): Doors shut while Lou Reeds band were rehearsing! Stuck in bar. @

Posted 04/07/2011

by JoniM

Location:Midlands

Though this was badged as a festival tour it was decidedly not! The whole thing felt like a rehearsal and didn't start well as Lou Reed was 75mins late. Seemed to be a lot of instrumentals and repetition. He played a couple of old favourites that were average and people sitting either side of me expressed their disappointment.

Wolverhampton Civic Hall @

- Wolverhampton @

- Fri 1 Jul 2011 @

Favourite moment: Guy sitting next to me singing harmonies. @

Setlist: Femme Fatale, Venus in Furs - didn't stay for encore @

Opening act(s): Doors shut while Lou Reeds band were rehearsing! Stuck in bar. @

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Review 19 for Lou Reed

4 / 5

Lou the Legend Reed

Wolverhampton Civic Hall @

- Wolverhampton @

- Fri 1 Jul 2011 @

Posted 04/07/2011

by Anonymous

Location:Wolverhampton

Why oh why do artists think it is cool to start late? A good 35 later than scheduled Lou shuffled onto the stage. The years, drugs and booze, have clearly taken their toll but when he kicks the guitar into life the magic is still there. Incredible band, sax player especially awesome.

Would I go again - you bet, would I turn up on time - not a chance!

Wolverhampton Civic Hall @

- Wolverhampton @

- Fri 1 Jul 2011 @

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Review 20 for Lou Reed

4 / 5

shame about the sound

Wolverhampton Civic Hall @

- Wolverhampton @

- Fri 1 Jul 2011 @

Favourite moment: When the gig eventually started! @

Posted 04/07/2011

by tony55

My kids and I were looking forward to seeing Lou Reed at the Civic in Wolverhampton. The show ran very late - we were advised there were technical difficulties with the sound system but everyone waited patiently when we did get in to the venue.

All in all a good show spoiled by a poor mix - looks like we should have heard some talented musicians with good solo performances but what we got was a wall of sound instead!

Wolverhampton Civic Hall @

- Wolverhampton @

- Fri 1 Jul 2011 @

Favourite moment: When the gig eventually started! @

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