I’ve been around for 21 years, but a part of me feels like my life actually started on Saturday night when Patti Smith walked out on stage. I think when I’m older, I’ll talk about my experiences as those before and those after the Patti Smith concert.
In other words, the show was very good.
First of all, I was so close!
Rams Head is small, so no matter where you go, you’re never too far away from the musicians. I was right up front in the balcony, almost on top of the stage.
I got there pretty early — hence the great view — so I had some time to observe the crowd from my balcony perch. Most people were my parents’ age or older, but there were some in their twenties scattered throughout and even a few very young teenagers.
I stood next to a nice woman who used to be a punk rocker in the late 70s. She told me about something they used to do back then called slam dancing. She described this as the precursor to the mosh pit; it involves two people at opposite ends of the room charging at one other as fast as possible, and then colliding on the dance floor.
Fortunately, there was no slam dancing at this concert.
But while the crowd wasn’t particularly rowdy, it was brimming with devotional fans. Everyone shouted “I love you!” to Patti Smith at least once.
It’s understandable, though; the woman is magic. On stage she is beautiful — full of exuberance, joy and intensity. Maybe some anger too, but her fury isn’t directed at the audience.
Patti Smith is an interesting mix of types.
She is part resolute bohemian, part anti-establishment punk and part adorable.
Her stage presence is a concoction of tough and sweet. In a matter of seconds she can go from screaming profanities to laughing bashfully at her own endearing mistakes.
She is a hypnotic performer.
Her voice is strong and haunting. Her movements are jerky, but they fit the edginess of her music.
Patti Smith is so into art that it’s infectious. At one point, she sat down between the amps as her fellow band mate Lenny Kaye performed one of his songs. For a few minutes she was just there to love the music along with the rest of the audience.
Smith played hits like “Because the Night,” “Gloria” (my favorite), “Pissing in a River,” “Horses” and “Power to the People.”
She also performed some stuff off her new album, “Banga,” which the audience (yours truly included) really enjoyed. Two of these were elegies: one to Amy Winehouse and the other for the recently-deceased French actress Maria Schneider.
In between songs, she chatted with the crowd, revealing her charming, unpretentious personality.
She knows her audience (in this case Baltimorean Patti Smith fans) very well. She talked about trying to visit Edgar Allan Poe’s house, and some Baltimore-born baseball player she knew we didn’t care about.
She discussed her age (65) and how she will soon be collecting social security. She said she doesn’t need it, but she doesn’t want the government to have it either, because they don’t know how to spend it.
Smith mentioned her late friend Robert Mapplethorpe, to whom the 2010 memoir, “Just Kids,” is dedicated.
She brought up Hurricane Sandy and World AIDS Day. She also declared her support for the Russian band, Pussy Riot, who have been in trouble recently for voicing their opinions against Putin’s government.
So it got a bit political, but mostly the show was full of good, solid rock ’n roll.
Smith’s voice and the sound of the guitars go right through your bones, especially on the more lively numbers.
Of course, some of the songs include spoken word poetry. But that doesn’t mean they’re not exciting. Smith builds her verses in a crescendo until the words explode into music. It’s really brilliant.
I went into Rams Head knowing I liked Patti Smith, but I guess I didn’t realize just how much. So the experience of seeing her live ended up being both a confirmation and a surprise.
Now it’s hard for me to imagine a better concert — because what more can you want from a performer than to send you away wondering if you’ve just been reborn?
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