CULTURE

Patti Smith returns in September

With each of her live performances reaching mythical status, the poetess of rock, Patti Smith, returns to Greece this September and will be welcomed by a loving audience. The two concerts she will give in Athens (September 22, Lycabettus Theater) and Thessaloniki (September 23, Velidio Hall), will include her recent and older songs as well as celebrated covers. One of the earliest pioneers of the New York punk movement, Smith infused the genre with a unique intellectual and feminist vein. Unlike many on the scene, she went on to enjoy a long and fruitful career and raise a family, despite suffering the losses of many close friends and family members. In June 2005, Smith was honored by the Cultural Ministry of France with the Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, and after seven years of being nominated was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. Besides recording, performing, writing and painting, Smith participates actively in multiple organizations devoted to human rights, not hesitating to voice her opinion on controversial issues. «Radio Baghdad,» from her 2004 album «Trampin’» was a cry of protest against the Bush administration, and became an anthem during anti-war protests. Patti Smith will sing pieces from her most recent album, «Twelve,» which went on sale last spring. A covers album which lacks the central theme of many of her other projects, «Twelve» is more a demonstration of Smith bringing a poet’s ambiguity and a woman’s emotional subtlety to pop and rock anthems, such as Jimi Hendrix’s «Are You Experienced?» Nirvana’s «Smells Like Teen Spirit,» the Rolling Stones’ «Gimme Shelter,» and even Tears for Fears’ 80s anthem «Everybody Wants to Rule the World.» Versions of older beloved rock tracks will also be performed, including pieces such as the epic «Land,» from her 1975 raw, John Cale-produced debut album «Horses,» «Because the Night,» which was written for her by Bruce Springsteen,» and of course «People Have the Power,» one the most important songs of sociopolitical protest ever written.

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