My one and only time to have gone to the legendary Mew York City discotheque Studio 54 was, somewhat ironically, to attend a Lou Reed concert in support of his album “ Legendary Hearts”. This was one of my favorite periods in the career of Mr.Reed as this project was the follow up to another great album, “The Blue Mask”. I remember walking into Studio 54 and instantly knowing that this was not to be any ordinary concert as cardboard replicas featuring Lou holding a metallic looking motorcycle helmet from the “Legendary Hearts” album cover art hung above our heads. I have a vague recollection of seeing Lou onstage from way back center, but the enduring memory of the night’s festivities is having had the opportunity to see inside the iconic Manhattan venue, albeit past its heights of legend, to attend a concert by one of rock and roll’s greatest performers in the heart of his New York City hometown (alright, I know he was originally from Freeport, Long Island but he hated it and considered himself a New Yorker).

A great venue has a heart, vibe and history all its own and Studio 54, although a seemingly an odd choice at first blush, was the perfect club on this night for the artist known as Lou Reed and a New York City audience fortunate to have found their way inside on a Tuesday night in 1983.

Sally Can’t Dance

Rock on!

GQ