Re: MICHAEL ON PATTI full post

[Dennis Moore <clayboy56>]

12.10.05
MICHAEL ON PATTI

I went and saw patti smith perform at BAM [the brooklyn academy of
music] on Wednesday, nov.30th. The show was landmark, even for her;
she has been on fire lately, her performances confident, strong,
ecstatic. The show celebrated the 30 year anniversary of the release
of horses, and they played the entire album in sequence for the first
set. The band consisted of j.d.daugherty and lenny kaye, founding
members of the patti smith group; tony shanahan on piano and keys,
flea [of rhcp] on bass, and tom verlaine [of television] on guitar.

Having flea on bass through most of the evening [he was magnificent,
like a barely contained, super elegant tasmanian devil---who else
could fit that description?] left supermusican tony shanahan free to
interpret on piano and keys, a crucial element in many of patti's
earlier compositions. It added a brilliant grounding to the horses
material and a new depth and illumination to the recent songs.

The second set was equally electrifying; opening with are you
experienced? by jimi hendrix, then leading into some of her best work
of the past 10 years, including beneath the southern cross and my
blakian year, which I found to be the evening's highlight; wild
leaves, and others. Present for the show were andi ostrowe;
photographer annie leibovitz, who has photographed patti for years and
did so throughout the set; and writer joan didion, sitting still, rapt
and rapturous from a balcony seat overlooking the stage.

I've seen many shows by patti over the years, and this evening
challenged my top 10 best ever performances of all time by any artist.
It showed a great performer and songwriter at her best. Kudos!

The re-release cd, horses/horses which just came out includes the live
performance from the london meltdown festival show with the same
lineup as above; strongly recommended

--michael

check out Patti's site by clicking here