In celebration of the classic album Horses reaching its 50th year, the legendary rock’n’roll musician, poet, and author, Patti Smith and her band have set out on a European and USA tour. The anniversary celebrations commenced on the 6th of October with a show at the 3Arena in Dublin, which I was very lucky to attend.
The artist performed Horses on stage in full, alongside guitarist Lenny Kaye and Jay Dee Daugherty, who accompanied its original recording in 1975, and her longtime bassist, Tony Shanahan. As part of her band, Smith was also joined by her son Jackson Smith on guitar.
The concert itself was an incredible event for any fan of Patti Smith and any fan of this era of rock’n’ roll and the punk scene, which Horses was so integral in creating. Everyone in the audience hung onto the artist’s every word within the electric atmosphere, Smith’s vocals still as dynamic and passionate as on the original record. Smith gave personal commentary on all the songs from the album and filled every natural pause in the show with anecdotes, personal statements, poetry, and special tributes and dedications to other artists such as Jim Morrison and Alan Ginsberg, as well as her late husband, Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith.
After the performance of the album, which concluded the first half of the concert, Smith’s band also performed a special medley tribute to the iconic band Television, with whom they had frequently collaborated during the original recording of Horses, naming them as their “sister band”. Smith also credited their late frontman, and former romantic partner, Tom Verlayne, as a collaborator on the song ‘Break It Up’.
The second half of the concert included Smith performing spoken word and more of her legendary songs, including ‘Dancing Barefoot’ and ‘Because the Night’, ending the show with the meaningful proclamation of ‘People Have the Power’.
While the show served as a joyful celebration, Smith did not hesitate in spreading a strong political and specifically a pro-Palestine message all throughout – most significantly by asking her audience to remember the innocence of all children during her performance of ‘Kimberly’, and then through the ending of her powerful piece of spoken word which led the whole arena audience into breaking out into one collective voice, and chanting for the freedom of Palestinian people. The 50-year-old album proved to still be as powerful and relevant in its meaning and its strength in uniting people as it was in the 1970s, Patti Smith’s writing and authentic artistry standing the test of time.
“Patti Smith in Rosengrten 1978” by Klaus Hiltscher is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.