Patti Smith
Live @ Anfiteatro Vittoriale, Gardone Riviera 22.07.12

THE REVIEW

The concert of the American singer-songwriter and composer Patti Smith took place in the splendid setting of the Vittoriale amphitheater, within the Tener-a-Mente Festival, accompanied by her historic guitarist Lenny Kayne and her band.

The performance was formidable, worthy of an evening from the CBGB'S days, where the artist was taking her first steps in a New York full of artistic ferment that in the '70s brought not only Smith but also many artists of the caliber of the Ramones, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop to fame, and where even various art forms apart from music have found an indelible place in social-popular history.

The concert began at very low volumes, almost whispering its start with the reggae-like "Redondo Beach," but in a continuous crescendo the performance transformed into a mega adrenaline concert where everyone, including myself, engaged in absurd dances driven by the grit of the more rock songs like "Gloria," but also by the delicate and edgy rhythm of "Ghost Dance," reaching "Because the Night," the historic song written by Springsteen for Smith. The concert was also an opportunity to hear live the songs from the latest album "Banga," twelve new songs and a cover: "After the Gold Rush" by Neil Young, highly acclaimed by the public and critics. The album offers moments of intense and high caliber, a clear sign of a fusion between the musicians and the American poetess.

At the peak of general euphoria, the singer decided to climb off the stage and enter the crowd, dancing and singing with her leather boots and lived-in jeans, triggering a unique frenzy among the audience, where a seven-year-old girl was called by Smith to dance on stage, giving us one of the most beautiful and moving moments of the evening. With Patti Smith, there isn't that level of distance that often separates a great artist from the people, because she doesn't want it. Thus, between songs and anecdotes about the pink pigs of highway stops, the evening ends leaving us with much joy and happiness in our hearts, but above all, the hope and conviction that each of us is an important person and not to underestimate the importance of music in communication between peoples, but especially as Patti says: "People have the Power"!

Set List: "Redondo Beach" "Dancing Barefoot" "April Fool" "Fuji-san" "This Is the Girl" "Ghost Dance" "Distant Fingers" "Beneath the Southern Cross" "We Three" "Night Time/ "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet/Born to Lose/Pushin' Too Hard" "Nine" "Pissing in a River" "Because the Night" "Peaceable Kingdom"/"People Have the Power (spoken)" "Gloria" "Banga" "Rock'n'roll Nigger"

Curated by Maurizio Barba Photos by Ileana Ferrara