Velvet Underground / Andy Warhol – May 3‑18 1966 The Trip, Los Angeles

VENUE: The Trip Nightclub, 

8572 Sunset Strip, Los Angeles CA DATES: May 3‑18 1966 (Closed after 

three nights)

SECTION: Concert Poster TITLE: Andy Warhol presents

 “The Plastic Inevitable Show” with 

The Velvet Underground and Nico

This original silkscreened window card advertised two weeks of performances by The Velvet Underground and Nico in Andy Warhol’s multimedia happening, The Plastic Inevitable Show.

The event was staged at The Trip, a short‑lived Sunset Strip club dubbed “The New Shrine of Pop Culture.” Although scheduled for May 3‑18, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department shut it down after only three nights.

The poster’s design is a vivid blend of Pop Art and psychedelia. It features Roy Lichtenstein’s comic‑style “POP!” explosion from Newsweek (April 25 1966) alongside Warhol’s Campbell Soup Kids in the lower corner. The layout mixes bold typography and playful press quotes from Time, Newsweek, and Warhol himself.

Graded CGC 9.4 Near Mint, it measures 14 × 22 inches and remains one of the most coveted posters among collectors of both rock and Pop Art.

EVENT: The Plastic Inevitable Show / Velvet Underground and Nico

ERA: 1966 –Pop Art and avant‑garde rock 

fusion

TONE: Ultra‑hip and experimental AUDIENCE: Los Angeles art scene and rock collectors

NOTES:  

Warhol’s “Exploding Plastic Inevitable” series combined live music, film projections, light shows, and dance performances — precursors to modern multimedia concerts.

The Velvets were supported by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention and accompanied by Warhol’s entourage including Edie Sedgwick, Gerard Malanga, and Mary Woronov.

The shows drew Hollywood’s elite: Sonny and Cher, Jack Nicholson, Jim Morrison, and Ryan O’Neal were spotted in the audience during the brief run.

This poster predates the release of The Velvet Underground & Nico album by nearly a year, capturing the band’s raw, unfiltered energy before their studio debut. The event’s abrupt closure only heightened its mythic status — a fleeting collision of Warhol’s art world and the emerging underground rock scene.

Sources: Heritage Auctions; The Art of Rock (Grushkin, 1987); Discogs; Wikipedia Copyright © 1966 Andy Warhol Enterprises / The Trip Club Los Angeles. All rights reserved. Archival reproduction for educational and historical reference only

---