the style it takes

 

Patti Smith crowns it at the Royal Albert Hall -- 5/10/2021

 THANK YOU MARKOxxx What a great night xxxx 

Opening with Dancing Barefoot, then She dedicated Redondo Beach to Lee Scratch Perry. She told us she was Grateful that we had hung on to our tickets for two years, and dedicated Grateful to us. She gave us a talk about Bunhill Cemetary and the Dissenters and the paths that crossed William Blake and Thomas Paine. She mentioned seeing the Queen when she was a young girl and how that was 70 (60) years ago and I got a flashback to the Rainbow when I was 17 when I had been in front of her and she'd jumped off the stage and bumped into my shoulder as she ran down the aisle and back. (Blakean Years)

And then, man, she went up in to some fantastic ceiling fresco painting for Birdland complete with angels and billowing clouds and skeleton pirate ships. She floated us down singing Blame it on the Sun (Stevie Wonder) with her son and daughter.

During one song someone threw something on the stage and she was outraged.

She finished the song and lectured, "This is MY territory. I dont care if you have emeralds from Cortez or handfuls of diamonds. You dont throw them on my stage. All i want is your love. And that's negotiable."

Her anger was a fleeting cloud. She changed the channel. She told us she loved ITV3 and that she watched Vera and White Cliff (if she can't sleep), George Gently, Endeavour, Grantchester, Cracker. She sang, "ITV3 I love you, come down like an angel and annoint me with your detective shows." She asked for the lights to be lowered. "This is like being a god but saying Let there not be light and there wasn't." LOL.

By the end of the evening pretty much everyone was on their feet (except the man behind me in a Rezillos t-shirt. He was watching it on my neighbour's rather good cell phone.)

Maybe the people who were mostly standing were under 40. There were a lot of young ones there.

By the end of My Generation she'd snapped all the guitar strings on an electric guitar bought out especially. Cheesy? Whatever.

I heard her tell me to embrace my fear and to look up what happened to Thomas Paine. Nature wanted to dance with the young generation she told them.

Job done.

I saw people come out on stage and Jay-Dee Daugherty taking photos. 

\The stage hands were giving out quite a few copies of the set list. I took a photo to see if I had it right. Had a lovely chat with Paul from Missorri who had flown in especially. He had made his t-shirt. Patti Smith had seen it and signed it. A gig-mate had snagged one for his friend. 'We're not married,' she told me. I told her I only took a photo of the set list.

And in the corridor I happened to see a very tall man standing by the Ladies room I came to understand, and I mentioned how so many people had flown in.

He told me he had come from Netherlands.

His wife came out of the bathroom and he gave me an electric shock by handing me his second set list. Rolled up. Just like that.

I couldnt believe it.

Paul had joined me and was a witness.

That was very nice of the Dutch man who nodded and smiled and left.

Paul and I exited by the Stage Door, him telling me the rest of the tour dates and noting there were no cars here and they had probably gone.

I went to get the bus cos I've got a Freedom Pass. Sat upstairs, like you do, and noticed stars on Oxford Street. Sort of like an early Christmas present.

Patti Smith is at Royal Albert Hall, London tonight - this is from yesterday