Wow.
A simple and yet powerful 3 letter review of living legend Patti Smith and her band performing Horses, in its entirety, as part of that album's 40th anniversary tour would appropriately be, "wow". End of review. If you missed this evening's sold out show or don't have tickets for the tour's final night, you're probably out of luck.
Upon exiting the Metro, I turned the corner and saw this marquee, which I've seen many times, but tonight, it looked different. It looked almost magical. Portions of the sold-out crowd wrapped around the front of the iconic Wiltern giving those passing by the impression that there must be a pretty important performance taking place inside and they would be absolutely correct.
Patti Smith and Her Band or the Patti Smith Band or the Patti Smith Group had no opening act and at this point in time, who could really do an opening slot justice? Patti wisely chose to perform a set that tipped the 2 hour scale and it was completely breathtaking.
There are many reasons as to why Patti Smith has remained an influential and vibrant force in the arts and tonight's performance was on point pretty much on every level. As the band took to the stage and picked up their instruments, Smith recited a spoken-word introduction to Horses and then the sold-out audience was treated to fantastic rendition of one of her best known songs, "Gloria" followed by "Redondo Beach", "Birdland" and "Free Money". As the band finished the final notes of "Free Money", Patti picked up a copy of Horses she had with her on stage and in a lighthearted moment said "back in my day, we would take the needle off the record, turn it over and put the needle back on the groove and continue listening." The audience showed their appreciation applauding loudly and laughing. There's no question that Patti has been an influence on countless artists and musicians throughout her lifetime including Nirvana, The Smiths, PJ Harvey, Garbage, Sleater-Kinney, R.E.M., U2 and the list goes on. Morrissey's live rendition of "Redondo Beach" is quite a testament to Smith's brilliance as a songwriter.
After a very short pause, the band began performing "Kimberly" followed by "Break It Up" (written by Smith and Tom Verlaine of Television about Jim Morrison), where Patti encouraged everyone to sing the title loudly when called upon and they certainly did. As she finished the next song, "Land" she took a few moments to explain the final track of the Horses album, "Elegie". Patti said she originally wrote the song with then-frequent collaborator, the late Allen Lanier of Blue Oyster Cult about her idols who were no longer alive at the time, such as Jimi Hendrix. Interestingly Lanier also performed on The Clash track "Julie's Been Working for the Drug Squad" as well as having worked with the late Jim Carroll. This was probably the most emotional and personal part of the evening as Patti dedicated the song to everyone in the audience who have lost loved ones, friends and even pets.
Smith then recited a list of her friends who had passed away over the years towards the end of the song including the four original members of the Ramones, Kurt Cobain, Joe Strummer, Janis Joplin, Fred "Sonic" Smith, co-writer Lanier, Robert Quine, Jim Carroll, Lou Reed and her dearest friend artist (and Horses cover photographer) Robert Mapplethorpe. If there was ever a moment that you could certainly connect with a legendary artist such as Patti Smith in a room of about 2,000 people, this was the moment. It was powerful and certainly a wonderful way to close out the first portion of the evening, which was the end of the Horses album.
Patti Smith's incredible backing band included long-time collaborator and Patti Smith Group guitarist, the equally legendary Lenny Kaye, Patti Smith Group drummer Jay Dee Daugherty, bassist and pianist Tony Shanahan who's been performing with Patti since the mid-90s and guitarist and bassist Jack Petruzzelli.
Together this band of talented musicians backed Smith on such notable songs as "Dancing Barefoot", The Who's "My Generation", "Because the Night" and "People Have the Power" from her 1988 then comeback album Dream of Life. During the evening's final song, Patti grabbed a guitar and created some wondrous noise that would make the members of Sonic Youth stand up and worship the stage. She was wailing on the guitar as she purposely broke strings and really made the audience take note that while she's not getting any younger, she's certainly not getting any mellower either.
Patti thanked many of those in attendance for believing in her including influential producer Jimmy Iovine. She gave a nod to Elvis Presley, who's birthday it was as she told a funny story of him saying he made a career out of curling his lip and then after some crowd insistence, she also gave a nod to birthday boy David Bowie.
Few albums are worthy of "full album shows" because they can seem gimmicky and almost unnecessary, but an album such as Horses truly captures an era and a time that will sadly never exist ever again. Even though this was being performed in Los Angeles as part of the anniversary tour, closing your eyes while Patti was singing almost transported you back to New York City in the early 1970s. It was quite an experience.
Tonight's performance felt like a love letter from Patti Smith to her fans, her band and to those no longer with us. Smith is a survivor and to witness a performance such as this after reading her brilliant book about the life she shared with Robert Mapplethorpe, Just Kids, was something that couldn't have been missed.
Tonight's event kicked off my roughly 33rd year of attending concerts and shows that weren't of the classical nature and if it is in the fact the last show I ever attend, what a wild and fun ride it's been.
Here's one last clip celebrating this era and it sums up an incredible lifetime of experiences: the late Lou Reed, the late Jim Carroll, the late Robert Quine along with a talented band performing Carroll's best know song.
