Patti Smith

For the last eighteen Years, the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless has put on a benefit concert. They heard that Patti Smith was going to be on tour this year, so they asked her to do this year's show. It was at the Park West Theater. Cyn and I took her sister, Melissa, who's been a big fan for a lot longer than I have. She'd never seen Patti before. We got there pretty early, and were near the stage, just right of center. I always forget that at these shows with a lot of old people, you don't have to arrive early to get to stand near the stage, though I was a little annoyed at some of the old people pushing in front of us when the show started. Yes, I have trouble recognizing that I'm one of those old people.

The opening act was a band of high school kids, Troubled Identity. I'm not sure how they landed the gig, but they donated $5000 to the cause. They were pretty good. No stylistic connection to Patti's work, but they didn't clash, so we're good. ;-)

After they played, there was a benefit auction. They auctioned a stay at a posh New York Hotel, and a photo safari in Africa. We have plans to go to New York soon, but the price tag of that one quickly escalated out of range. The safari was more tempting, as it went for about half of what it was worth, but it was still expensive, and it didn't include air fare. And Cyn only has so much vacation time. They did a framed, autographed copy of Springsteen's Nebraska, and Bono's autograph on the single for "I Will Follow". I think those went for way under street value, but I have no resources to turn them around, so no bids from me.

So then Patti and her band came on. She seemed to be having some technical difficultly, as she went over for a chat with the sound person after the first song, but I couldn't tell what it was. The vocals were kinda lost during the opening act, but everything sounded great for Patti's set. She also seemed a little odd, early in the set. Confused? High? A little different than usual, anyway. By the middle of her set, she seemed pretty much like herself, maybe smoother than usual. She had the usual banter with the audience, though she was pretty nice to people. Or maybe that's because the audience was nice to her. Someone shouted that she looked just like her kindergarten picture (in her new book). She smiled and said she felt that way too. Then she said that it was really her bible school picture and that she skipped kindergarten. She was kicked out for reading. A few times, her stories went on a little long, and Tony would start the song.

The band included Lenny Kaye on guitars and backing vocals, "Jimmy the Hat" on guitar, Tony Shanahan on keyboards, bass and backing vocals, and J.D. Daugherty on drums. Jimmy or Lenny played bass when Tony was on the keyboard. Patti played her acoustic a couple of times.

They started off rather low key. I can't remember what the opening song was, but it wasn't a rocker. Was it "Lo and Beholden"? I think second was "Redondo Beach", and I'm pretty sure third was "Free Money". That was the first one where the band really got rocking. Lenny opened that one with a very nice, mellow solo. A little ways into the show, Patti got her acoustic, and strummed a little song about her parents in Chicago. It sounded like she penned it that afternoon. She told of how poor her parents were. And how her father, Grant, walked through Grant Park, pretending it was named for him. And how her father took her mother to Grant Hospital, again pretending it was named for him. And there, Patti was born. That was a lead-in to "My Blakean Year". Other songs included "Mother Rose" (written for her mother, by her and Tony), "Lo and Beholden", "Beneath the Southern Cross", "Wing", "People Have the Power", "Dancing Barefoot", "Because the Night" and "Pissing In A River".

Lenny's pick for garage rock classic was "People Who Died". He and Tony traded verses. Patti introduced the song, saying that the Jim Carroll (who died last September) was "the greatest poet of our generation." The other cover for the night was The Ojays's "Love Train". Patti said they were gonna fuck it up. :-) After that was their finale, "Gloria". If you've ever heard the song, you know the energy involved. The audience goes wild, and it's not just appreciation for the song - everybody dances.

Setlist from http://setlists.pattismithlogbook.info/:
Frederick, Redondo Beach, Free Money, Improvisation/My Blakean Year, Dancing Barefoot, Mother Rose, Beneath the Southern Cross, Wing, Ask the Angels, People Who Died, Pissing in a River, Because the Night, People Have the Power, (encore): Love Train, Gloria