Patti Smith is good for what ails us
Patti Smith has the power.
The legendary punk-rock poet can accomplish things on the concert stage that most performers can only dream of doing. And those feats have little to do with vocal ability or musical talent, although Smith excels in those fields as well.
It’s more about how she can mesmerize a crowd and get the audience to believe in the power of music and the community it creates. Listening to this 72-yearold Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, one starts to buy into her message — that we can make a difference, we can rise above the evil, we can fashion a better tomorrow.
By the end of the concert, it’s hard not to feel a little more hopeful about
the world we live in.
In this day and age, that’s a mighty amazing gift.
But it’s all in a night’s work for Smith, who was her usually transcendent self as she opened a twonight stand at the legendary Fillmore in San Francisco on Friday.
She also performs two sold-out shows Monday and
Tuesday at the Rio in Santa Cruz.
Smith’s power stems from many sources, not the least of which is her authenticity. This is the woman who helped create punk rock in the ’70s, alongside the likes of Television and the Ramones. Everything about her seems so real, like she’s
never put an ounce of energy into pretending she’s anything other than herself.
Opening the show with a meditative “Ghost Dance,” from 1978’s excellent “Easter,” Smith poured oceans of feeling and emotion into the music during the roughly two-hour show. Some songs, such as “My Blakean Year,” felt achingly raw and brittle. Others were anthems of urgency — such as the amazing cover of Midnight Oil’s “Beds Are Burning” — or soared with pure passion, like “Dancing Barefoot.”
And it’s almost as much fun listening to Smith talk between songs as it is hearing her sing them. She’s got a great personality, just bubbling with heart, and she can be poignant one moment and hilarious the next.
For instance, she spoke tenderly about her concerns for those affected by the government shutdown, especially those struggling
to get by without a paycheck. She related it to her own childhood, when money could be scarce for her family, and then offered some advice for those going through the hardships.
“You just have to be strong and eat a lot of french fries,” she said. “That’s what we did.”
She also dished about her hurt finger, which had kept her from playing guitar for months.
On Friday, however, she was finally ready to begin strumming again.
“You’re just going to have to be my guinea pigs for my re-entry into being a guitar god,” she said to the crowd.
Smith was accompanied by her wonderful backing band, which, of course, includes longtime sideman and musical partner Lenny Kaye.
Kaye sounded fantastic at the Fillmore, laying down some tasty riffs left and right, occasionally burning through a big lead, and, in general, illustrating how the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame screwed up by inducting Smith without the accompanying Patti Smith Group in 2007.
Smith, of course, is hugely deserving of the honor. But Kaye deserves to be in the hall as well, right beside the group’s namesake. And Smith would likely be the first to agree with that assessment, having had the chance to see Kaye’s brilliance on display for decades.
“That Lenny,” Smith said after Kaye delivered the fretboard fireworks on “Ain’t It Strange.” “He’ll wear you out.” Smith dedicated songs to several people, including the late playwright and actor Sam Shepard and the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.
She also teared up as she talked about one Bay Area music legend.
“I’d like to send a little salute to Joan Baez,” Smith said. “She just had a birthday and she’s awesome.”
Smith ended the show with a triumphant version of “People Have the Power,” which rang through the Fillmore, lifting spirits and leaving us with the hope that Smith may indeed be right.