rare color live footage of The Velvet Underground unearthed (watch)

Not a lot of live footage exists of The Velvet Underground and definitely not much in color. But, as Dangerous Minds points out, film of them playing Dallas Peace Day, a Vietnam War protest that happened on October 15, 1969, has been unearthed. The footage is part of a collection of hundreds of reels of film, most of them unmarked and unidentified, in the holdings of the G. William Jones Film & Video Collection at the SMU Library archives.

The band were in Dallas for a week of shows and were one of a handful of artists, including Lou Rawls, to play the Peace Day protest. G. William Jones Film & Video Collection uploaded a few lengthy clips from the protest, which includes the band performing “I’m Waiting for the Man,” “Beginning to See the Light,” and “I’m Set Free,” and there’s an interview with Sterling Morrison as well. Sound is on the muffled side but it is fascinating nonetheless. They also uploaded silent b-roll footage which has more of VU. Watch those, with the points The Velvet Underground appear cued up, below.