Times New Viking Cover the Velvet Underground Show Review

MP3:Times New Viking-Pale Blue Eyes(Live)

Throughout the world, and even in America people gather in townsquares to celebrate their regional musicks, cultures and histories. I would imagine in New Orleans they have a celebration of Jazz music at some point.

 Columbus Ohio currently has art rock n roll. So in the townsquare for the arts, the Wexner Center, a town meeting was called to salute the finale of Andy Warhol exhibition. The townspeople came out on a holiday in such a force that this cultural moment was at it’s capacity.

The prodigal sons of the town’s art rock n roll, Times New Viking were rightfully drafted to covet the Velvet Underground in said celebration.

I missed TNV’s bff’s Psychedelic Horeshit because I was pounding a 40 at my home, and bumping Young Jeezy without a proper concept of time. But from all texted accounts from trusted community spokesman Envelope, they were “good”.

I arrived right when Times New Viking started their set with “Run”.  Watching a respected band cover a legendary band in an international reknown artspace is much different than watching your friends match accapella’s over instrumentals on Serato in a basement amuse you.

TNV is a 3 piece whose songs very rarely crack more than two minutes. So the Velvets and TNV may be cut from the same from the same, in actual reality there were gonna be some challenges for our town’s heroes. They enlisted Mike Hummel, and C. Spencer Yah to assist them. In addition, keyboardist/singer Beth Murphy played guitar at times.

Intially,it was kinda like when you first watched someone injest a methamphetamine for the first time in the park by the High School. Like whoah. ‘People do real drugs. And people can handle doing drugs’.

This is really Times New Viking playing Velvet Underground songs.  It seemed awkward and speedy at first.

The band settled in nicely playing”I’ll Be Your Mirror”, “Waiting for My Man”, “All Tommorrow’s Parties”, “Sunday Morning”, ” which built beautiful for the trifecta of “Venus in Furs”, ” I Can’t Stand it”. and “Herion”

The layers of guitars were augmented perfectly with C. Spencer Yah’s violin playing. It was kinda like waking up under a warm blanket, and even though it’s cold outside the interior was comforting. Like taking an opiate.(sorry for the obvious.twice)

Mike Rep sang on and nailed “Herion” perfectly. This was the moment TNV had sold that they could master the Velvets. Now owning the moment, it allowed “Pale Blue Eyes”,  “Here She Comes Now” and “Femme Fatale”  to be somewhat poignant. 

Then TNV inversed the elitist tendancy of the context by inviting RTFO Bandwagon’s doods to play while Ron House led a sing-along,almost karoake-style encore. TNV included the townspeople in being Velvet Underground.