Patti Smith performs Horses-Meltdown Festival

[schwenko]

and the good news is that there will be an official DVD!

Patti Smith back in saddle
by Nicole Mowbray
The Observer, Sunday, 26 June 2005

She's been called the 'godmother of punk', 'the female equivalent of
David Bowie' and the' poet laureate of punk rock'. And last night,
Patti Smith ended 30 years of anticipation when she finally performed
her seminal album Horses for the first time at London's Royal Festival
Hall.

Horses has been deemed 'the album which shakes a generation', not to
mention one of the finest debut albums of all times.

Expectation was high and, unsurprisingly, the show itself was one of
the hottest tickets in town; all 2,800 sold out within two hours of
going on sale earlier this year.

Patti Smith herself is nothing short of an icon. Musician, poet, and
friend of William Burroughs, Susan Sontag, Jimi Hendrix and
photographer Robert Mapplethorpe - to name but a few.

Opening for Patti Smith was legendary producer of Horses , artist and
former member of the Velvet Underground, John Cale, together with his
'special friends', including Flea, the bassist with the Red Hot Chili
Peppers.

Beginning with a reading, Cale launched into some of his best known
tracks, among them, Hanky Panky and Over Her Head . At times eerie,
Cale's powerful, beautiful voice perfectly complemented the
eight-piece musical collective he'd assembled on stage.

And then it was time. Dressed in grey jeans, an oversized men's suit
jacket, white shirt and tie, and 'new brown boxer boots', 58-year-old
Patti Smith took to the stage on London's Southbank to a standing
ovation.

She retains her unique sexiness and showed no signs of ageing
gracefully, spitting and swearing her way through a 90-minute set. The
crowd went crazy for her.

Smith was joined by a band made up of several members of Television
and at times, the ubiquitous Flea.

With this performance, Smith hoped to 'infuse the innocence that was
there in its ( Horses ) inception ... with 30 years of experience'.
She achieved that, and more. Before her first track, Gloria , had
finished, the seated crowd were clamouring at the front of the
auditorium and didn't sit down until the lights came up.

The stellar performance marked the penultimate night of the annual
Meltdown Festival, supported by The Observer and this year
guest-directed by Smith herself - an experience she described as 'the
most social of her life'.