ANDY WARHOL, THE VELVET UNDERGROUND AND THE CAFE BIZARRE

back to DEC. 15, 1965: THE VELVET UNDERGROUND PLAY BIZARRE

In late 65/early 66, Jonas Mekas was doing a series called the Expanded Cinema at the Film-Makers Cinematheque, “where artists like Jack Smith and La Monte Young and Robert Whitman would combine cinema images and projectors with live action and music.” The Velvet Underground (with Lou Reed) played behind the screen during some of the shows at the Cinematheque. (POP143)

When The Velvet Underground played a short residency at the Cafe Bizarre, Barbara Rubin, a filmmaker friend of Jonas Mekas, asked Gerard Malanga along to go see them with her:

Gerard Malanga:

"She asked me to bring my whip and suggested I dance while the group performed, as Barbara knew how much I enjoyed it, having already seen me dance to Martha and The Vandellas in Andy's film Vinyl. On the following day, Barbara and I entered Cafe Bizarre to the glaring sounds of what appeared to be a rock'n'roll group, but there all resemblance ended. The stage was level with the rest of the floor, so the group was right up against the tables and chairs. I waited for about 20 minutes before getting up to dance. I was tentative at first because no one else was on the dance floor at the time and I thought my participating would be an intrusion since the musicians were in such close proximity to the audience. I did, finally, make my way to the front of the audience - a few scattered customers - and was joined minutes later by a young girl who quickly retreated back to her seat. During the intermission, Barbara introduced me to Lou Reed and John Cale. Lou said how much he enjoyed my getting up to dance to the music. I told him I felt a little self-conscious because I was intruding, but he assured me I wasn't, and both he and John said I should come back and dance again. They really wanted people to dance to the music and not just to sit and listen to it. The music was very intimidating." (UP6-7)

Barbara Rubin wanted to film The Velvets performing at the cafe and the next day Gerard Malanga asked Paul Morrissey along to help with the lighting. (UT7) Paul was looking for a band to play at a new nightclub that Warhol and Morrissey had been asked to get involved with by Broadway producer, Michael Myerberg. After seeing the band, Morrissey told Warhol about them the next day and Andy went down to see them that night. (UT7)

A description of the evening appears in Up-tight - The Velvet Underground Story by Victor Bockris and Gerard Malanga:

"The Cafe Bizarre was a long narrow room with sawdust on the floor and a number of tables with fish-net lamps ranged along the walls. The Warhol party, including Sedgwick, Morrissey, Malanga and Rubin sat at a couple of tables against the wall in front of and to the left of the band. It was a Thursday night. Nobody paid any attention to their arrival. The art and rock worlds were still quite separate and the ten or fifteen people scattered amoung the tables didn't recognize the new arrivals... As soon as The Velvet Underground started to play however, Andy became quite animated, because he immediately recognized he could work with this band. The music was so loud it was impossible to to talk while they were playing, but in a break between songs he asked Edie what she though about having the band play in front of the movies during her upcoming retrospective. She was understandably unenthusiastic about a suggestion that would clearly have drawn a good deal of attention away from her starring role and got uptight. But when Gerard got up and danced in black leather pants with his whip, eerily mirroring The Velvets' style with his sinuous, mesmeric movements, which resembled a cross between the Frug and an Egyptian belly dance, Andy saw Gerard become a part of The Velvets and even more reason to feel that here was a rock band with whom he could really connect." (UT8)

According to Paul Morrissey, Gerard Malanga had also asked Nico along on the same night and Paul met her at the Cafe Bizarre for the first time. According to Morrissey, he said to her that evening, "Nico, you're a singer. You need somebody to play in back of you. You can maybe sing with this group, if they want to work with us and go in this club and be managed." (UT9)

Andy, Paul and Gerard thought that the Velvet Underground would be a good band to play behind Nico, who Warhol described as “an incredible German beauty who’d just arrived in New York from London... Gerard had met her in London that spring and given her the Factory number to call if she ever came to New York.” (POP145)

Nico had already done a record called I’m Not Sayin in London in 1965. The single was produced by Andrew Oldham, the Rolling Stones producer. She had also been in La Dolce Vita and claimed that she had a young son by Alain Delon.

Andy Warhol:

“Nico was a new type of female superstar. Baby Jane and Edie were both outgoing, American, social, bright, excited, chatty - whereas Nico was wierd and untalkative.” (POP146)

After being introduced to Lou Reed, Nico had a brief affair with him.

John Cale:

"Lou and Nico had some kind of an affair, both consummated and constipated... Andy brought her into the band, and we nearly always accepted Andy's decisions." (LR107-8)

Nico ended her brief affair with Lou Reed following an appearance at Jonas Mekas' Cinematheque. (LR118)

According to singer Tally Brown who had also appeared in Andy Warhol's film, Batman Dracula, Warhol also approached her with the opportunity to sing with the Velvet Underground. Although she did attend one rehearsal, her interest was more with jazz and blues than with rock and roll. (PS240)

back to DEC. 15, 1965: THE VELVET UNDERGROUND PLAY BIZARRE