Feb. 20, 1978 review: Patti Smith at Buff State and UB

 


Buffalo colleges go dibs to bring in Patti Smith. 

Feb. 20, 1978 

2 Different Patti Smiths 

Keep Audiences Satisfied 

    "Listen, you guys," Patti Smith is saying Sunday night to the colorful crowd of savants that fill the University at Buffalo's Clark Gym. "I ain't in my best shape tonight. But you guys stick with me and we'll have a real good time." 

    Smith the rock 'n roller would be a bit different from Smith the poet, who had give a loose and delightful hour and more to an abundant crowd stuffed into Buffalo State College's Student Union Fireside Lounge in the afternoon. But one of the things that carried over was her health.

    True, she was in weakened condition, but she was hardly in poor spirits. She'd had "the Commie flu," she told the poetry lovers.

    The fallen satellite, she explained, "let out this new flu. This flu goes through you and tries to get you to be anti-American. I had this little piece of a flag tied here to my vest and it got so bad I wanted to take it off ..."

    A totally charming ragamuffin, she confessed to being a little unready for the reading. She wound up borrowing a copy of her new book, "Babel." She chatted and peppered her poems with constant observations and asides. 

    For the rock show, she's come prepared. Besides her own head of steam, there's guitarist Lenny Kaye and the rest of her quintet fanning up rhythms to songs from her forthcoming "Easter" album. Occasionally she has to shush them down.

    When she does the Ronettes' 1963 hit "Be My Baby" and her anthem revival of "Gloria," the crowd sings the chorus parts en masse. Smith's fans encourage her to get closer to the limits than any female rock performer has gotten since Janis Joplin.

    Joplin's model, however, was the tragic Bessie Smith. Patti Smith's is Keith Richard of the Rolling Stones – a black sheep, a romantic and a survivor. 

    Her poetry runs to the delirious edge that's teased bards since Baudelaire. She synthesizes everything from the 23 rd Psalm to the lust of loving. She'll write from a man's role, then breathe bursts of words in an ecstasy that's boldly feminine. She's the most exciting woman in rock. 

    Opening the concert was a UB-based punk-rock band on its first gig – the Secrets – whose roots are the Ramones and Lou Reed. Their most volatile moment involved Mark Freeland, singer for Pegasus and a part-time punk-rocker, who leaped on stage to harmonize in what turned out to be an unwelcome duet. 

* * * * *

IN THE PHOTO: Patti Smith performing in Mannheim, Germany, in March 1978. Photo by Klaus Hiltscher.

* * * * *

FOOTNOTE: Patti Smith was two weeks into her first tour since recovering from a serious neck injury she suffered in a fall from a stage in 1977. The “Easter” album, which would be released March 3,  included the song she co-wrote with Bruce Springsteen, “Because the Night.” The crowd this night would have been hearing it for the first time. Her book of poems, images and other writings had just been published.

          Here’s her setlist from Clark Gym, courtesy of setlist.fm: 

          Birdland

          Kimberly

          Privilege (Set Me Free)

          We Three

          Because the Night

          Ask the Angels

          Ghost Dance

          25 th Floor

          Be My Baby

          Free Money

          Radio Ethiopia

          Rock n Roll (N-word)

          Gloria

          Pissing in a River

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