Tonight...

.... I'm seeing Patti Smith at the Union Chapel. I'm curious about what it's going to be like... at first I told myself not to expect much, as she's quite old and there's probably going to be a 'the Bob Dylan effect' (worn out voice etc.)...
But friday I bought and read '31 Songs', a series of essays on pop music in connection with personal moments in the life of the writer; Nick Hornby. When reading the 31st chapter '31: the Patti Smith Group - Pissing In A River', where Hornby writes about seeing Patti live at the Union Chapel on a hot summernight, it gave me a more hopeful insight (even though it's probably ten years ago, or more, when he went to this gig). He writes how Patti Smith is so filled with bohemianism and love for art that it's inspiring, leaving him wanting to visit galleries, paint, read and/or write.

Here an excerpt from the essay;
'I couldn't remember having heard 'Pissing In A River' before, or if I had, it had made no impression on me. That night, however, as Smith hit the electrifying declamtory climax of the song - 'Everything I've done, I've done for you / Oh, I'd give my life for you' - swaying in the blue light, with the church pulpit and the beautiful stained-glass windows behind her, you could feel the whole audience fall in love with her, and the song, and the evening. It was one of those rare moments - miraculous, in the context of a rock show - which make you grateful for the music you know, the music you have yet to hear, the books you have read and are going to read, maybe even the life you live. You can't ask much more than that of you twenty-five quid (chapel renovations included). And though it's too much to expect an ephiphany of this kind on a regular basis, it seems to me a worthwhile thing to pitch for.'