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 AUSTIN
POWERED
There's
no limit to the fun on the "Austin City Limits" soundstage as the
2000 SXSW Music Festival kicks off with Patti Smith
by Mitch
Myers
AUSTIN--Thanks
to the generosity and goodwill of some kind, dialed-in local folk,
I found myself at the soundstage of "Austin City Limits" (on the campus
of the University of Texas) as the SXSW 2000 Music Festival kicked
off Wednesday night. Patti
Smith was performing an impromptu set at a private party for
conference VIPs.
While the "BMG SXSW Bar-B-Acoustic" had been going strong since
7pm with energetic performances from such accomplished artists as
the Reverend Horton Heat and
guitarist Doyle Bramhall,
I was strictly focused on catching the high priestess of rock in
ACL's warm, intimate setting. By the time Smith and her group hit
the stage it was around midnight and the festive crowd had already
consumed a fair amount of free tequila. Smith herself seemed in
grand spirits as she strolled in front of an Austin audience for the
first time in 22 years.
With her gray hair nearly combed, and clad in sport jacket and jeans,
Smith graciously greeted the crowd before launching into an unplugged
version of a tune off of "Gung Ho,"
which hits stores March 21. Flanked by guitarists Oliver Ray and
Lenny Kaye and a pumping rhythm section, Smith mesmerized the crowd
with her emphatic, guttural vocal style and intense stage manner.
Grinning widely, she quickly led the band into "Redondo Beach,"
a swaying, reggae-tinged song from her classic debut album, "Horses,"
before performing "Grateful," an ode to the late Jerry Garcia on
the new disc.
It was abundantly clear that Patti was enjoying herself onstage
as the guitarists put down their acoustic instruments and plugged
in for another old favorite, "Dancing Barefoot." Smith gamely took
a request from the audience and provided a moving version of "Pissing
in a River" before tackling a spoken-word version of "People Have
the Power." While Ms. Smith momentarily forget the lyrics and needed a nudge from her bass player to get back on track, she handled
the gaffe with humor and charmed the audience with self-effacing
remarks.
As the band segued from a rousing version of "Rock and Roll Nigger"
into an even more transcendent interpretation of "Gloria," Smith
hunched to the edge of the stage, whirled, spit, hollered and danced
herself into a stunning frenzy. As the music intensified, she stuck
her boot into one of the television cameras before climbing onto
a small table in the middle of the crowd to lead everyone into the
song's timeless chorus.
Bidding the audience goodnight and inviting us all to see her perform
again at Waterloo Park on Friday, Smith proved once again that she
is a truly gifted performer.
While the entire set barely lasted an hour, this was one of the
most satisfying live shows I've seen in quite some time. There's
no doubt about it, SXSW 2000 has begun and it's certainly time to
have some fun. Stay tuned for more surprises.
For
complete Newcity.com coverage of SXSW 2000, click here.
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