Lou Reed counted plenty of fellow musicians as fans during his long career. But how many of those disciples actually backed Lou up onstage? In 1988, during a Long Island radio station event, The Feelies served as the songwriter’s band for a blistering set. “It started as kind of a joke,” guitarist Bill Million laughs. “We told the station we’d do the show if Lou played some songs with us. And then he said yes! It was a bit terrifying.”
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But the performance went swimmingly, and soon, Reed invited The Feelies to hit the road with him as his opening act in 1989. What was Lou like as a tourmate? “The opposite of everything you’ve heard, actually,” Million reveals. “There were dinners with Lou and his crew, and a lot of chances to talk to him. He had a reputation as this curmudgeon, but that wasn’t our experience.” Million even recalls Lou threatening to walk out on a gig if The Feelies didn’t get a proper soundcheck.
Now, the Feelies are paying back the favour with Some Kinda Love, a double LP of expertly rendered Velvet Underground covers taped live in 2018. The Feelies may know this material backwards and forwards (how many other…
