Lou Reed / St. James Theatre, NYC, NY - FM broadcast

Lou Reed
St. James Theatre,
New York City, NY
March 23, 1989
Tokyo FM Broadcast

01 Lou introduces the show
02 Romeo Had Juliette
03 Halloween Parade
04 Dirty Blvd.
05 Endless Cycle
06 There Is No Time
07 Busload of Faith
08 Strawman
09 Dime Store Mystery
10 I Love You, Suzanne
11 Doin' The Things That We Want To
12 Rock 'n' Roll
13 Video Violence
14 Band intros
15 Sweet Jane
16 Walk On The Wild Side
17 The Original Wrapper

This is a first-generation tape I received in trade from Japan.  As is often the case, the tape created a mystery.  The tape label is dated "March 28, 1989." I recognize the handwriting of my Tokyo trading partner from all those years ago (Hi, Masanori Saito!! I hope the last 34 years have been good ones!)

But you know Đ®åⒻṬëŕṽøï... I follow Ronald Reagan's tape trading advice: "Trust but verify. Bootlegs often have incorrect information!"  

And sure enough, my first search on the Internet found a poster for the show, listing six dates:  March 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, and 25.  (I've included a copy in the Artwork folder for your reference).

I also found Internet information indicating a Tokyo broadcast of a Lou Reed show dated March 23 with an identical set list, so I'm going with date.  It is likely the 28th is the date of the broadcast in Japan...or that it's just a mistake.

What was broadcast was not the full show from the 23rd. Reed played the entire "New York" album as his first set but the tape only eight of the fourteen "New York" songs.  I found reviews of the shows, and it's likely the second set and encores are missing songs, too.

But what's here is very good. Got that? VERY GOOD.  The tape has some obvious edits where the audience is fast-faded out.  Most likely there were commercials or deejay breaks that were removed.  So this is a very good first generation copy of what was broadcast in Japan. Until a Japanese master shows up, you're gonna want this version.  

I found no evidence of a longer U.S. broadcast.  I would have thought a show like this would have been broadcast by WNEW, but I found no trace of a broadcast. Why Japanese radio got a copy of the show and U.S. radio didn't is a mystery.

I've included some contemporary newspaper reviews of the show, and a review of the New York album.  

Rock and Roll Geography Lesson:

One of the newspaper articles is about "rock in the theater district."  

Wiki tells us, "The St. James Theatre, originally Erlanger's Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 246 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, it was designed by Warren and Wetmore in a neo-Georgian style and was constructed for A. L. Erlanger. It has 1,709 seats across three levels... Both the facade and the auditorium interior are New York City landmarks."

Got that?  Warren and Wetmore!  Neo-Georgian facade!  Be ready for a pop quiz later this week...

"The theater has housed several long-running musicals in its history, including original productions of Oklahoma!, The King and I, Hello, Dolly!, The Who's Tommy, and The Producers."

The ticket prices were high for the time, $28.50 and $25.50...and the newspapers indicate that all six shows sold out. 

NOW WITH LINK!

https://mega.nz/file/DYYHXaAK#R0-wl8sny71k8Y3TZT3t-BUD1LurBKZT39JBtU5FPX0