Bruce Springsteen 27/5/1981

This gig vies for top spot of all gigs I have ever been to. I have been to gigs that peaked at higher levels but for its sheer sustained brilliance and energy(for around three hours) this has a special place in my gigography. It is fair to say that Springsteen was at his creative best around this time and that the band had a whole stack of great musicians but I was not ready for the rock'n'roll blast that started with the first chord of the opening track 'Born to Run' which then segued into 'Prove it all night' and then finally into 'Out on the Street' without pause. That was some opening. 'The River' had been released the previous year and Springsteen took us through much of this impecable double album as well as playing songs from his previous albums. The River is not just about great rock songs but also has a number of outstanding ballads. 'The River', 'The Price You Pay' Independence Day, 'Point Blank, 'Stolen Car and 'Wreck on the Highway' were all included in the gig and that is part of what made it a great night. Springsteen who could sing up a storm on both types of track kept the emotional rollercoaster going at a high pitch and even looked like he was enjoying every minute. The band was fantastic musically and also up for the rock'n'roll theatre that Springsteen put out. When your three guitarists are Springsteen, Nils Lofgren and Steve Van Zandt then you already have a great band. Adding in Roy Bittan on keyboards and the superb Clarence Clemons on sax just about seals the deal. There were innumerable outstanding songs and I am going to resist naming favourites in the interests of brevity as I would probably end up pretty much listing all the tracks. I take away a memory of Springsteen, long after I had expected the gig to finish,shouting at the audience that if anyone had a weak heart they'd better leave now. I don't think anyone did.

Lou Reed 9/8/2012

I was definitely up for this gig after listening to a lot of Velvet Underground in the early 70s. The nice surprise was how much I liked his recent recordings which resounded with that rasping relentless rhythm that characterised Velvet Underground songs. I should have stuck with Lou Reed so I have some catching up to do. There was no support but I really enjoyed the disonant feedbacky swirl of sound that substituted for a support act. Lou Reed kicked off with 'Brandenburg Gate' from 'Lulu' and I was immediately into the dense sound of Lou and the band. The band included (for the third time in four gigs) a perfectly aligned sax player. This one blasted away as if he had been part of the Velvets, raucous and rhythmic. The whole band was on board as well and the resulting sound was for me pretty exciting. Next up was a couple of Velvets songs, 'Heroin' and 'Waiting' for my man'. It was all a bit intense and deep for the audience who seem to come to the Assembly for a chat with their friends. Most of the rest of the fairly short set (about 90 mins including the encore) was composed of songs from Lulu mixed in with some solo tracks such as 'Walk on the Wild Side'. I particularly liked the last track before the encore, 'Junior Dad' from Lulu which started quietly and built up into a wall of noise from Lou and Aram Bajakian on guitar and Sarth Calhoun on sax. The encore was the best Velvet's song of the night, played with feeling - 'I'm beginning to see the Light'. It's a great track to go off into the night. I'm still humming it nearly a week later.