Photo: Elly Roberts
With the Celebrity Big Brother storm raging and gale force winds battering Britain, could a 64 year-old rock icon stir up his own type of storm in his native Wales? For almost 42 years, Welshman John (Davies) Cale has enjoyed cult status around the globe. As founding member of seminal rock outfit Velvet Underground, Cale has gone on to burrow a fascinating musical career. The fruits of his labour haven’t exactly been rewarded in terms of major commercial success. Recognition did eventually come in the mid-80s with album V.U. and finally in 2002 with the resurfacing of Velvet Underground & Nico, and one single ‘Venus In Furs which’ peaked at a lowly 71 in the UK charts. As a solo artist he’s never charted here. Nevertheless, he’s still a magnet for musos who still regard VU as an influential band.
On his homecoming gig, the first of his UK and European tour, he eventually emerged from the shadows following an endless - and annoying - drone that seemed to go on for ever. Coming on to rapturous applause, the seasoned veteran beamed with delight, saying, “Hello Wrexham, nice to see you.” It was straight down to business from his 16 song set list over 90 minutes, opening with a great rocker ‘Read My Mind’ from album Hobosapiens. From then on, he meandered through more rockers, the best being – ‘Turn The Lights On’ – a grungy rocker layered with wailing guitar by Dustin Boyer, Dirty Ass Rock And Roll an almost tribal affair with dirty riffs and crunching chords which brought a huge roar, to the shuffling rhythm of 'Fear', through to keyboard-led 'Ghost Story' with plenty of his classical training on show. There were also acoustic ballads like the stunning gentle lament 'Big White Cloud' from recent flick Smokin’ Aces.
Loud clapping and cheering predictably brought an encore – one song, ‘Chorale’, followed by, “Nos Da!” and he was off.
The night was an excellent choice of songs, from albums Fear, Vintage Violence, Guts, Blackacetate, Sabotage Live and Island Years, where Cale effortlessly switched between keyboards, electric and acoustic guitars reinforcing his credentials as a major force on the rock scene.
