Patti Smith is a legend, and she still draws large crowds at the age of 68. The singer usually likes to pay homage to music legends at her gigs, and her Jan. 29 show at Los Angeles' Ace Hotel was no different.
The Chicago native played covers from John Lennon and Bob Dylan on Friday night, along with a tune from Kurt Cobain and Nirvana.
Smith went with the obvious choice ("Smells Like Teen Spirit") and somebody got video footage of it. The whole thing was a little weird, but the venerable songstress managed to whip her crowd into a frenzy by the end.
Check out the video below:
Smith has long been a champion of Cobain's work.
"I was heartbroken when he committed suicide," she told Seattle Weekly in 2010. "I loved Nirvana. And I knew that Kurt Cobain was very fond of my husband [the late guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith] and the MC5. We felt so badly. We just wished that we would have known him, and been able to talk to him, and had some positive effect on him. Seeing Robert [Mapplethorpe, Smith's lover] struggling for his life, and doing everything to live, and then seeing this very gifted boy kill himself was painful to factor."
She'll be on to San Diego for a Saturday night gig, and then gets a month-long break before hitting LA's Roxy for a Feb. 2 show.
Here's the full setlist from Friday (via The Hollywood Reporter):
01. Dancing Barefoot
02. Redondo Beach
03. Pumping (My Heart)
04. Distant Fingers
05. Beautiful Boy (John Lennon cover)
06. Time Passes Slowly (Bob Dylan cover)
07. Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana cover)
08. My Little Red Book (written by Bacharach/David, as performed by Love)
09. 7 & 7 Is (Love cover)
10. Ain't It Strange
12. Because The Night
13. Pissing In The River
14. Gandhi
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15. Banga
16. People Got The Power
17. Gloria (In Excelcis Deo)
