| A Salute to Patti Smith |
| Tuesday, 02 January 2007 07:59 | |||||||||||
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Photos from Oct. 17, 2006 at CBGB's final concert:
Renaissance woman/rock legend Patti Smith has been at the height of visibility lately, with her March induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a new album ("Twelve") to promote. She's been playing a demanding concert schedule (having just been in New York last week at the Hiro Ballroom), and is about to head across the pond for a two-month European tour. 
Patti Smith on the CBGB stage on last time
The Patti Smith Group (L to R): Tony Shanahan, Patti Smith, Lenny Kaye
Smith talking to the fans outside
The Patti Smith Group started their history at CBGB with a two-month house gig in 1974
Now Smith is blessing New Yorkers with a very special night at the Bowery Ballroom, in which she will be playing three separate sets on April 24th, with a free copy of "Twelve" included with the $17 ticket price. As with most big-name shows in Manhattan, all three of the concerts have been sold out for quite some time. But for those desperate for last-minute tickets, a few can still be found via craigslist. If there is one reason to love Patti Smith, it's because her performances shows you that a 60-year-old can rock harder than most musicians who could be her grandchildren. The reason we loved Patti 25 years ago was because she showed that a woman can rock, with the real balls-out rock and roll. Now she shows us that anyone of any sex and any age can rock. Thanks to inspid trends like American Idol, a large part of our country has forgotten about real rock and roll, except for some ersatz cocktail lounge version--where The Eagles, Air Supply, and Nickelback might represent the height of artistic creativity. But when people like Patti Smith or Iggy Pop or Henry Rollins snare media attention for their ability to be as fresh today as they were when they first started out, it reminds us what rock and roll was all about. Not precision singing, not faux-emotion, not vocals that are fixed by pitch correction software. Real rock and roll stars are the ones that sing from the heart, in their own style, and couldn't give a fuck whether they're singing right or not. Back in 1974, at a rock writers' convention in Buffalo, NY, I saw Patti Smith perform with Lenny Kaye. It was among her very first performances--before the Patti Smith Band. And she had just as much energy, sweat, and spittle then as she has provided on any stage since. I think she did an early version of Horses, maybe Gloria, and other songs that later became songs on the first album. And they are just as memorable today as they were then. Since then, she's kicked out some great and immeasurably important albums such as "Horses" (1975), "Easter" (1978)--which includes the Bruce Springsteen-penned "Because The Night," and, more recently, 2004's excellent "Trampin'." Patti Smith's most recent album, "Twelve," being composed entirely of cover songs, might be considered an indulgent detour by some music critics. But Smith has released enough quality material in her stellar career that we can't easily attribute the album to laziness. In fact, since some (but not all) of the covers are so sonically distinct from the original, such as her heartbreaking banjo-inflected take on Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," and Smith brings out her wail of reckless abandon and bared emotion--"Twelve" might rank among the more creative and passionate cover albums ever made. Among the standout tracks are "Pasttime Paradise" by Stevie Wonder, "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane, and "Changing of the Guard" by Bob Dylan. Also, don't miss the bizarre choice of an '80s classic: Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants To Save The World." pattismith.net
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