EDINBURGH--In the second half of the twentieth century, innovations have edged nearer and nearer toward indestructibility. Most of them are bad news--plastic, nuclear waste, home shopping networks. But then there are the few-and-far-between good ones such as Lou Reed [ tickets ].

At 58, Reed is still the defiant American rock god he was during his Velvet Underground years in the '60s. In fact, despite the opinions of righteous John Cale supporters, Reed's voice, sound and lyrics were the driving force behind the Velvets. That’s not to say that Cale didn’t have a major influence on the group. But, judging from Reed’s 19th solo album, "Ecstasy," which sounds very Velvety in parts, Reed was the one flipping the group’s important switches.

Since most of Reed’s music is dependant upon heavy guitar riffs--sometimes bluesy and mellow, sometimes manic and recklessly distorted--it's a given that he is a performer who sounds better live than recorded. And his Edinburgh performance made his homeland proud. There was no opening act for Reed and his backing band as they happily took the 1,500-strong crowd on a two-hour adventure of “Ecstasy” material and older tunes dating back to the Velvets' “Sweet Jane.”

Irksomely enough, “Ecstasy” is one of those albums with some first-class tunes such as “Paranoia Key of E” and “Rock Minuet," and then some easily forgettable ones such as “Mad” and “Tatters." On stage, however, Reed was able to fuse the blander material with amazing musical breaks, making it a case of bringing the dead to life. This, along with the unique sunset-looking light show and the superbly tight playing, proved that Reed is a musician who will never whither with time.

Throughout the 22-song set, Reed wove in numerous songs from his expansive back catalogue, including “Romeo Had Juliet” and “Smalltown." But being the veteran he is, he waited for the encore to pull out most of his "greatest hits" including “Perfect Day," “Vicious” and final number “White Light, White Heat."

Due to his relentless strumming and full-on attitude throughout the show, there’s no doubt that Reed is now fatigued and has calluses on top of his calluses. But as every single fan in attendance would agree, his and the band’s die-hard efforts were worth it. A long, standing ovation was the least they could give him in return.