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CONCERT REVIEW - Patti Smith, Melbourne (Australia) 1997

Writer's picture: Victor StrangesVictor Stranges
It was probably the best rock 'n' roll show I had ever seen. I like not having expectations before a gig. I like being surprised. This was before YouTube and streaming videos on the internet gave us access to whatever we wanted. Sure we had MP3s online but I was a CD aficionado.

Photo by Bodow. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Patti Smith from the WDR show "Rockpalast" on 21/22 April 1979 in Essen, Germany
Patti Smith from the WDR show "Rockpalast" on 21/22 April 1979 in Essen, Germany

It was my job as well. Managing record stores was what I did and I eagerly listened to customer recommendations and studied Mojo, Vox and Q magazines. They were certainly a lot better than Rolling Stone who, at the time, had succumbed to commercially favorable cover shots of Spice Girls, Salt 'N' Pepa and Brad Pitt. Actually some of the record company reps really were a reliable source of good music. Although they had a job to do, a lot of them were secretly music fans, and not just record company mouthpieces.



1997 was a time of discovery and appreciation of re-issues but if you wanted to see live footage, you had to go to the show or buy a video cassette. So when I heard Patti Smith was playing at the Palais Theatre in Melbourne, I thought.....hmm. Should I go? I only had her 1975 album, Horses, which I had bought several years earlier from this cool little record store in Dandenong (Australia), of all places. It was such a good store. I even bought a Bo Diddley t-shirt there. I mean who in Dandenong sells Bo Diddley t-shirts? I wish I can remember the name of the store. They certainly were brave. It probably only lasted six or twelve months in the early 1990s.



So back to Patti Smith at the Palais in Melbourne. I had second row seats. My memory is really vague now and I wish I had written an account on the night because it was life-changing. What I remember was the spirit of the show and how it progressively got better and better and better with each song. By the time she came to her last few songs she had stripped to a crumpled t-shirt and was barefoot. It's really hard to explain but she seemed dangerous and I was quite taken at how she encouraged the audience to get out of their seats.


Photo by David Shankbone, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0).

Patti Smith at the 2010 National Book Critics  Circle awards, New York City
Patti Smith at the 2010 National Book Critics Circle awards, New York City

I don't know what it was but her conviction was absolute and she seemed to have some sort of authority while she was on stage; a power. I didn't know what it was but I think she mentioned the passing of her late husband, Fred "Sonic" Smith, who had died a couple of years earlier. I also knew what it was like to lose someone when my father passed away a few years before.


That understanding combined with the rock 'n' roll spirit of sticking it to the man and being of independent thought really resonated with me. She didn't say those words but I suppose it's her humanity and the fact that you can't pidgeon hole Patti Smith that attracted me to her art. I was deeply moved.





Being familiar with the career and life of Buddy Holly, it was a nice surprise to hear Patti close with "Not Fade Away." It segued into her provocative track "Rock 'n' Roll Nigger," then "Gloria." She jumped off stage and ran into the audience, beckoning a real connection with everyone there, including me. Those moments I will never forget. I'm not sure what Patti was like in 1975 at CBGBs in NYC because I was only five at the time. It was 1997, and it was a glorious moment.


I was reminded of her greatness a few years later when a friend at a record store encouraged me to buy her 2000 album, 'Gung Ho.' I love that record.



I have quietly followed her and admired her in increasing increments. In 2012 I purchased 'Banga' which is a beautiful record and a glimpse into the heart and mind of a wonderful artist. You know you really like someone's songs when as a songwriter yourself, you wish you had written them.

Patti Smith Original Album Classics 5 CD

Banga has several. It is my favourite album of hers (so far) and worthy of your time if you are looking for something interesting to listen to.


I recently bought a heap of her previous albums which are packaged at a low price on CD. I think it was $20 for 5 albums. That's insane. I'm looking forward to hearing more from the great Patti Smith.


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As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. This does not affect your price.


As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. This does not affect your price.

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