Wednesday night Patti Smith entertained folks who were lucky enough to get tickets to her sold out show. I arrived late to the show, it was supposed to have started at 7:30 and I got to the Chevalier at 7:30. I was surprised at how long the lines were. The line extended beyond the post office parking lot! However, once the doors had opened the line moved pretty swiftly, it took all of 10 mins to get from line to my seat. What surprised me the most, the woman I walked to the theater came from Western MA. Once we took our spot in line, the gentleman behind us traveled from Portsmouth NH. I told him I grew up in the next town over in Dover NH. A couple in front of us said they lived there. Needless to say, the word got out far and wide for this show.

Despite getting in late, Patti herself was late. There was also a problem with the book give-away. Your paid ticket got you a hard cover copy of her book “Bread of Angels”. However the books were all gone by the time the late arrivers showed up. She apologized for the late start and joked it was in honor of the stragglers of which she was one herself. Scanning through the audience, its clear the crowd was a nice even mix of both young and old. Its probably safe to say her legacy may outlast that of her friend and former roommate Robert Mapplethorpe. What was a coincidence was that while the show started late, the show once started did not take off right away. The first story sort of dragged a bit, however once she sang her first song of the night, the next stories were as riveting as most of us have come to expect from her. Whether it was overcoming the neighborhood bully or to tell the story of how she met her husband, Fred “Sonic” Smith, formerly of the MC5 or even stories about her mother and father, the song selection became more recognizable as the night went on.

Among the stories and songs was how she chose Jimmy Iovine to produce her album – Easter and how Jimmy brought her a hit song from Bruce Springsteen which she reluctantly recorded. Patti didn’t want to use this song because she wanted the album to be just her songs. However, while waiting for her soon to be husband, Fred, to make their weekly phone call, he was late and as fate would have it, she played the tape that Iovine had given her. Needless to say it was one of her biggest hits. Among the songs I did recognize were the last three. Dancing Barefoot from the album Wave, Because The Night from Easter and a Neil Young cover which is weird because at one point in the night I was thinking of a Neil Young song that would have fit nicely in the set, however this night the song would be – After The Gold Rush. With such an extensive catalog of music of her own, I get the choice and as this was a memoir it was a fitting end to the evening. The show was just barely over one hour long but the best news of all was as we were leaving the theater, the books that has been scooped up for the first arrival of the crowd, were replenished for those of us who did not get their copy on arrival. Should she write another book and go on tour, I won’t wait to buy my ticket for next time. This was great for bringing back memories for those of us who are in the back nine of their own lives and it should set fresh memories for those new to her books and music. It was the best show I’ve seen all year.