English
I was about to write an article lamenting the curious phenomenon of the 2010 summer tours, which above all seem to be about festival after festival, most of which include as headliners and special guest artists fading stars that are that are already more fossil than rocker. But when I heard that Patti Smith will perform on Friday 28 in Rome at the Teatro Romano di Ostia Antica, my cynicism receded a bit. If there is any living legend of rock (who also listens to opera), you should have a chance to see, appreciate and be thankful for it’s Patti Smith.
Many call her the “High Priestess of Punk,” a moniker that she has earned over the years because she embodies what punk music is about, not only in sonic terms but also spiritual, political, and emotional ones. Raised in a working-class religious family, she left her humble beginnings in 1967 for New York; in what would be not only a move that would change her life but also the history of music.
Unlike many “stars” of today, her path took her to world fame not because of how she dressed or manufactured her own image or drew attention in the tabloids but because of her energy and intelligence as a singer and songwriter , artistic and political associations and of course, attitude and empathetic energy. In New York, she got together with such artists like photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, playwright Sam Shepard and producer John Cale.
She influenced a whole generation of rockers, left show business to raise her children, and returned to play after the death of her husband, partly because friends like Michael Stipe and Allen Ginsberg advised her to keep making music to help overcome her grief.
Besides being a musician, a poet and writer, she recently published a memoir of her time during the 70s in New York called Just Kids. Take advantage of this opportunity to see her now in Rome. Rent apartments in Rome, because the night is sometimes very long, and you should rest.
