Uncut UK – October 2019

68 • UNCUT • OCTOBER 2019

SANFRANCISCO, 1996

T

HEtelephoneis ringinginPatti

Smith’sroomattheMiyakoHotel.San

Francisco’sfabledrock’n’rollhangout

sinceit openedinthelate’60s,the

MiyakohasalwaysbeenPatti’s

preferredhotelwhenshevisitsthecity,

wheresheis drawntoitsrice-paper-

panelleddoors,lowfutons,deep

Japanesesoakingtubsandkoiponds.

Rightnow,though, Smith is not feeling

especiallyZen.

“Hello,yes?”shesaystestilyasshe

picksupthephone.“Uh-huh.Talkto

him.Don’tbugmeaboutthisshit,OK?”Shehangsupthephonewith

aclatter.“Sorry,theywantmetopay$100forcleaninga room,

fumigatingthesmokeoutoftheroom.I don’tevensmoke.Oh,man.”

Itis March1996,andPattiSmithis inSanFranciscotoplaya pairof

showsatthecity’sWarfieldTheatre.These,however,arenotjustany

shows:theyaretheartist’sfirstsignificantliveappearancesin 17

years,noless.Since1980,Smithhasbeenlivinginsemi-retirement

withherfamilyinStClairShores,a quietsuburbancityinMichigan.

Butthedeathofherhusband,Fred“Sonic”Smith,onNovember4,

1994,andherbrotherTodda monthlaterhaveforceda regrettable

changeincircumstances.NowSmithis returningtoactiveservice,if

onlytoprovideforherchildren.A newalbum,GoneAgain, is duefor

releaseintwomonths’time.Therecord,herfirstsince1988’sDream

OfLife, was planned in cahoots with her husband. But since his

death,thealbum’ssessionsassumedthestatusofa memorial– not
justtoherlatehusbandandbrother,butalsotobandmateRichard
Sohlandheronetimeloverandcreativesoulmate,thephotographer
RobertMapplethorpe, whose deaths all occurred during a bleak,
four-yearstretch.
Thisreturntothepubliceye– encouragedbyclosefriendsMichael
StipeandAllenGinsberg– has,necessarily,inspireda degreeof
retrospectiononSmith’spart.Shehascastback to her earliest days in
ordertoseekenergiesforhernewventures.
“I’mstillreallyproudofHorses,” sherevealsintheMiyako.
“Iknowthatit didn’ttapintothecollectiveconsciousness,but
I wasn’tattemptingtospeakto‘theworld’.I wasspeakingtothe
disenfranchised,topeopleoutsidesociety,peoplelikemyself.I didn’t
knowthesepeople,butI knewtheywereoutthere.I thinkHorsesdid
whatI hopedit woulddo.It spoketothepeoplewhoneededtohearit.
“IjustalwaysfiguredI wassortofanagitatorora visitor,”she
continues.“IjustfeltlikeI wantedtogetpeopleagitatedandready.”
ShecertainlydidthatattheWarfield,addressing the crowd with,
“Iamnolongerinterestedinyouropinion.”
“Yeah,I meantit,”shesaysnow.“Notoutof...”shestrugglesfor a
word,anddoesn’tfindit.Doesshemeantosaymeanness?
Sheignoresthesuggestion.“Ah,no.Buttherewasa momentwhere
peoplekepttalkingtomeoryellingthingsoutoraskingmetodothis
ortalkingtome– whichI encourage.ButwhatI wassayingwas,
I wasenteringthisotherfieldwhereI wascompletelyfeelingmy
ownpowerormyownstrengthsormyownvulnerabilities...
“Iwouldn’tbesoconcernedaboutthesethingsortalkingabout
themsomuchhadit notbeensolongsinceI performed,”she
LUCIANO VITI/GETTY IMAGES continues. “So I’m finding it kind of fascinating right now. I really

InItaly,

1996:“ I

havea

different

kindof

sensuality”