patti smith reviews

Patti in French Wine Country (Ain’t It Strange), August 2003
By Tim Andrews

I have just got home exhausted from Patti's gig in Colmar, France on Friday the 8th August (it was a long drive) and thought I would send a brief (and probably a little ragged) report before going to bed. Colmar is a small, but pretty, market town not far from Strasbourg on the French side of the Rhine. The gig was part of a wine festival in an area of the countryside that is full of vineyards, definitely “Vineland” but rather than the gig being in a “clubhouse” it was in some kind of agricultural show ground! (And she didn’t even play Ain’t It Strange although it surely was). It was the opening night of the week long festival and later in the week ZZ Top and Deep Purple are playing!! The place was rammed with families looking at tractors and buying candy floss. At the back of the showground was an entrance to the small arena (it is possibly more usually used for cattle auctions but that could just be me being a little unfair) and at 8pm there were loads of people going in and it was pretty full inside. I tried not to look too much at the other members of the audience as I didn’t want to think that maybe they had never heard of Patti Smith, in the event their response, from where I was standing, seemed ecstatic.

I managed to fight my way to the front and stood behind the barrier just to the right of centre stage. I then realised, to my shock and horror, that Patti was the support!! Lenny had a photo of Rimbaud stuck on his Marshall amp. After about 10 minutes of hanging around I noticed Patti coming out of the wings at the back of the stage and shouted hello and waved and everyone else joined in. She was looking good in black blazer (with various badges inc. CND badge), black waist coat, black T shirt with a picture of the Eiffel Tower and the word Paris on it (all very old looking) and a pair of new looking cropped black combat trousers. It was hot, about 38 deg C. The guitar amps were draped with rainbow flags with PACE written on them. She walked to the front of the stage followed by the rest of the band. Yeah they all looked a little older but then don’t we all. The set list included (not in order and only from memory) Free Money, Redondo Beach, Pissing In A River, 25th Floor, Frederick, Dancing Barefoot, Summer Cannibals, Gone Again (Dedicated to Fred Sonic Smith), Break It Up, Because The Night, People Have The Power, she opened with Southern Cross, playing acoustic guitar with Lenny and Oliver and ended with Gloria. Her voice was incredibly strong and powerful and she looked happy and gave loads of smiles. She introduced Break It Up by putting on her reading glasses and reading her notes for Break It Up from a copy of her book “Patti Smith Complete” (page 24).

The crowd went wild each time she mentioned Jim Morrison’s name. She didn’t read the last line where she says that the words were written with Tom Verlaine. Before she started reading this there was a lull and a pause and I read (well shouted actually) the first lines from Piss Factory, she looked at me and smiled – it felt quite good to think she had heard me reading her words to her. Before People Have The Power she had a rant about George Bush and the war in Iraq and thanked all the people in the audience who had gone on the many peace protests there were in France before the war. She encouraged everyone to keep on being a “thorn in the side of the administration”. She then went on to dedicate the song to Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, who was born in Colmar, he is the guy who designed the Statue of Liberty, she made the comment that the statue sits half in New York and half in New Jersey. At one point during the gig someone threw something small at the stage and Patti became very angry, swore at the crowd and threatened to “never come here again” if it happens again (I wasn’t sure if she meant Colmar or France) – either way it didn’t happen again. She played a Fender Strat and broke a few strings during one song although I can’t remember which one. She was about to brave stepping out into the pit at one point by walking on to some large monitors but hesitated and thought better of it – maybe memories of Florida and her accident had flashed into her head - I had been ready to jump the barrier and help her had she needed it. In the middle of one song, again I am not certain which, Oliver Ray played a solo and Patti disappeared off the back of the stage and then reappeared in the pit and went the full length touching peoples hands, she touched both mine (I immediately vowed to never wash again). The last song of the set was Gloria which got an ecstatic reception and she let the crowd sing Gloria after she sang G-L-O-R-I-A. And then she was gone and so was my voice. We all clapped and cheered, begging for more but, being the support band, I guess she wasn’t allowed and they put the house lights on.

I made my way out of the arena, I had never heard of the headline act – some French geezer. As I left I somehow took a wrong turn and found myself alone at the back of the arena where Patti’s English roadies were loading up the truck. I decided to hang around and to see if anyone would kick me out, they didn’t. I chatted to one of the guys and he said that the gig in London on Monday should be really good; he said that Patti has said it will be the last time she ever plays her old songs!!! I waited and waited and after about 45 minutes Oliver came out and then Patti and the others. I was in quite a state but managed to pull myself together and wandered over and said hello and thanked her for the show. She shook my hand (what definitely no washing?) said a few things that in the excitement have now totally left my head, I probably babbled stupidly and then she was off towards the tour bus. I pulled myself together long enough to have a much better chat with Lenny who was delightful and held my hand after I had shaken his and while I told him the story of my love of Patti since 77, how she has been my constant companion through thick and thin and how I had seen them play at Wembley Arena in 79 (how I had invaded the pit, with everyone else at the front, and stood within reach of Patti for most of the gig) and of the time I had seen them at the Serpentine Gallery in 96. He seemed genuinely touched. I then said see ya and wandered off in a daze.

Photo by Stephen Sweet