Lou Reed
London Royal Albert Hall
30th June, 2008

A year since Reed first toured Berlin, its stage adaptation as originally conceived by Reed and Bob Ezrin is little short of a masterpiece. Starting in darkness, the album was played in its entirety to its sad conclusion. Supported by a 30-piece orchestra and children’s choir, the darkest point came with Caroline having her children taken away in The Kids – their screams sending shivers down the spine. But all was not doom and gloom, and once Berlin and its standing ovations were done, to prevent the audience from topping themselves Reed returned for an encore of upbeat fare, including Satellite Of Love, Rock And Roll and his recent Power Of The Heart. He certainly has that.