I previously posted my most essential artists of the 1970′s. Interestingly, both Iggy Pop’s Stooges and Lou Reed’s Street hassle have made the list of $1000 concert t-shirts.

Occasionally you can find a bargain like this one.

I did not get to see Lou in 1978 but I did give blood (literally) to see David Bowie kick off his Brian Eno collaborative material in San Diego. Lou Reed’s Street Hassle L.P. was played in lieu of an opening act for much of this tour because Bowie (rightly) reckoned that the main stream media would ignore this important release. This tour not only proved that you could fill stadiums with a synth band, but it included early takes on Isolationist Ambient / Space Music instrumentals mixed with Progressive Rock. The eclectic band included Roger Powell (Utopia – Keyboards), Simon House (Hawkwind – Electronic Violin), and Ex Zappa / future Talking Heads / King Crimson phenom Adrian Belew on guitar.

I’ll be taking a closer look at Eno and the unusual studio techniques that spawned the albums that anchored this important moment in art history in my next post.