Saved from oblivion

I just found the set list I jotted down during Patti Smith's closing set at the WXPN All About the Music Festival in July. I was about to throw it away, but realized what it was just in time. Since I got up at 4:30, I decided this meant I finally got to blog it. (Boyfriend is snoring down the house, plus I am wired for sound.) It's also my last Sunday morning with Keith Brand and Sleepy Hollow--the most interesting music mix EVAH. But I digress.

Imagine sundown overlooking the Delaware River and the Philly skyline as backdrop. L'heure bleu morphing into gray and silver, river, clouds, sky. Red and purple glints off the cimbals. Patti Smith with Lenny Kaye and Jay Dee Dougherty, plus a drummer whose name I didn't catch. Old friends. The original black-haired indies, now with silver hair but still punk.

Opening: Dancing Barefoot. (I got up and danced barefoot in the grass.) Ghost Dance (We Shall Live Again chorus); Redondo Beach (as intense as ever); Southern Cross (with a long trance break); Camden riff--tone poem composed for this event?; Free Money; Like A Rolling Stone (great cover!); The People Have The Power; Rock and Roll Nigger; and of course, Gloria. It was glorious.

Can't take you home with me and the offspring on the ferry. Patti provided a soundtrack for both our lives. It's fascinating seeing her songs reach young people. Of course, she got in an anti-war message. The middle-class middle-aged women were there lipsynching the lyrics with me. It was still empowering--I think that's the thing about Patti.