Patti Smith
Pandemic-delayed gig intoxicates and levitates.
Patti Smith: possessing an evergreen on-stage charisma.
GETTY
‘There are covers, but the real heat hisses off
her own landmarks.’
★ It was worth the wait. Patti Smith’s Albert Hall debut takes the glazed-iron roof off. The disparate elements of her set – ferocious garage rock, punk, reggae, poetry, ballads – are fused into a herculean whole by her evergreen on-stage charisma. Her lifelong belief that rock can be transformative, intelligent and visceral is vindicated. A Smith show is a sea of possibilities. Even hardened fans concur that tonight was an extraordinary release, the priestess at her most potent.