The moment Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson staged a concert for dogs
Lou Reed has always been a musical innovator ever since he formed The Velvet Underground in 1964. The band were experimental and avant-garde rock pioneers, proving to be highly influential precursors to punk, noise rock and new wave music. Although The Velvet Underground were not commercially successful, Brian Eno once correctly stated that practically everyone that did buy a copy of their debut album went on to form a band.
The Velvet Underground are now well-loved and respected for their outstanding contributions to music, with many of their releases listed among the greatest albums of all time. Reed, who went on to have a highly fruitful solo career after the band dissolved in 1971, was a creative genius, never afraid to experiment with new genres and sounds which were almost always ahead of their time. The musician’s pioneering efforts and exploration of new territories have led certain projects of his to be recieved incredibly divisively, most notably, Metal Machine Music.
Upon the album’s release, it recieved comments such as “nothing more than ear-wrecking electronic sludge, guaranteed to clear any room of humans in record time,” and as displeasing as “a night in a bus terminal.” Whatever your opinion is on the album, you can’t deny that Reed was ambitious and admirable in his efforts to push the boundaries of music. Thus, it is unsurprising that in 2010, Reed and his wife, avant-garde composer and musician Laurie Anderson, decided to put on a concert aimed at dogs.
As part of Sydney’s Vivid LIVE festival, the 20-minute performance took place on the steps of the Sydney Opera House, where dogs and their owners gathered to hear some dog-friendly low-frequency tunes. The idea stemmed from Anderson’s fantasy “where I look out, and the whole audience is dogs.” Furthermore, Reed and Anderson were inspired to stage the concert after making music for their rat terrier Lolabelle, who, according to her owner, “likes things with a lot of smoothness but with beats in them.”
The organisers billed the event as “an inter-species social gathering on a scale never seen before in Australia” and “an absolute must for any dog and their two-legged friends.” Although Reed didn’t perform at the concert, he was instrumental in creating the music with his wife. Instead, Anderson performed with musicians Eyvind Kang, Skúli Sverrisson, and saxophonist Colin Stetson (who went on to compose scores such as Hereditary).
According to Anderson, the concert was a huge success. She said, “It was really so fantastic. All the dogs were really grooving on the music. They really seemed to enjoy themself.” When the concert ended, the dogs began to bark, which she called “a beautiful sound.” The musician even stated, “They barked for five minutes. That was one of the happiest moments of my life.”
Watch a clip of the performance below:
