John Cale setlists
Touring in The Seventies
Cale takes some time to establish himself as a solo act. He plays a short set at the Roundhouse in London on January 17, 1971. There's a sort of Velvets reunion when he performs with Lou Reed and Nico at the Bataclan in Paris (January 19, 1972), a show that has been bootlegged countless times, before getting an official release in 2003.
The Rainbow concert on June 1, 1974
A concert at the Rainbow in London with Kevin Ayers, Nico and Eno is captured on the June 1, 1974 album. Plays viola on Driving Me Backwards (Eno) and Two Goes Into Four (Ayers), and piano op Baby's On Fire (Eno). Heartbreak Hotel is the only solo Cale track.
First European tour
He hits the road with his own band for a proper European tour in 1975 and becomes more comfortable in his new role as a band leader and frontman.
Supporting Patti Smith
After producing her debut album Horses, he supports Patti Smith in 1976 on numerous concerts, often joining her on stage to play bass on the My Generation encore. A recording at The Agora, Cleveland (January 26, 1976) is included as a bonus track on the remastered Horses album in 1996.
Jamming with Smith, Byrne, Ronson and Reed
Cale is a regular in the New York Club live music scene, often performing at CBGB's, and on one occasion he is joined on stage by David Byrne.
On July 21, 1976, he jams at The Ocean Club with Lou Reed, Patti Smith and Mick Ronson.
Croydon chicken incident
Elaborate stage clothes (hard hats, hockey masks and doctor's clothing) and antics abound from 1977 onwards. The show at the Greyhound in Croydon (April 24, 1977) will haunt him forever - he beheaded a chicken during Heartbreak Hotel.
The dresssing up reaches a peak in 1979 - the year he comes closest to what can be described as hard rock. He works up new songs on the road, which end up on the Sabotage/Live and Even Cowgirls Get The Blues live albums.
With David Bowie on viola in Carnegie Hall
He is one of the acts at the WKCR Benefit Concert at Carnegie Hall in New York on April 1st, 1979. He shared the bill with Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Leroy Jenkins, and The Model Citizens.
He taught David Bowie how to play the viola, the first time he played one. He sat in on Sabotage. After the concert Bowie quipped: "My mum would have been proud of me!"
Sterling Morrisson sits on "Mercenaries" in Austin
Sterling Morrisson, who was working as a tugboat captain in Austin, joins the band during a show at Armadillo World Headquarters on April 19, 1979 to play guitar on Mercenaries (Ready For War)). After the show they were interviewed on local radio station KWT. Morrison would join the band again four weeks later on May 17.