Have you heard of Plastic People of the Universe? The band, from Prague, was a major part of the underground culture there. This underground culture is often linked back to starting just after Allen Ginsberg visited Prague, and was then expelled from Czechoslovakia, in 1965. It's also linked to a rare copy of the Velvet Underground's first record showing up there and inspiring those in the music circle. The PPU (who got their name from the Frank Zappa song "Plastic People"), and others, sprouted up and went against the Communist regime, and were often arrested by the Czech communists in the 1970's because of this. In 1989 the (bloodless) overthrow of Communist rule occured, and was called "the Velvet Revolution."
The band, often touted as "the greatest obscure rock band of all time", will play two shows in New York City over the next few days. The first is tonight at the Cutting Room and the second is Monday at The Knitting Factory. Vaclav Havel will be at tonight's performance.
