I had the illusion that at one of these Coachella reunion shows, Lou Reed and John Cale were going to get the band together and we were going to have a Velvet Underground reunion. We’re talking full “White Light, White Heat” in the Indio desert. No such luck, however, at SXSW 2008, I had the pleasure to take in a full night dedicated to the work of Lou Reed and company. We’re talking Yo La Tengo, Moby, Thurston Moore….you get the idea. Reed’s subversive lyrics in the 60s blazed an alternate avenue that wasn’t protesting Vietnam, but an alternative lifestyle. I’m thankful that I had the chance to witness a performance, albeit many decades after the VU heyday.