Live: Patti Smith @ Union Chapel

by | Nov 1, 2014

The ground underfoot is dark, dank woodland and there are strange, other-worldly sounds whirling through the air, that may be ominous or might be soothing. This is the setting created by a huge video screen overhead and five musicians on one side of the stage. Leading the performance is Patti Smith, on the other side of the stage. Dressed casually in jeans and a dark jacket, her wild grey hair free around her shoulders, she still strongly conveys much of the look of her iconic punk priestess self of earlier times. However, tonight is a chance to hear her interpret the words of Nico, the late German singer, musician, songwriter and actress, in a show entitled Killer Road.

Patti Smith @ Union Chapel

Patti Smith @ Union Chapel

I’d read somewhere, before the show, that the footage of woodland paths that open the filmic dimension of the event, is taken from the place where Nico was cycling in Ibiza when she died in 1988. I’m not sure if it’s true, but I still feel almost a tinge of horror film spectacle as the scene unfolds, but this is quickly and completely dispelled by the words that fall from the mouth of Smith as the evening unfurls like a kaleidoscopic dreamscape.

“Sometimes we must keep from bringing certain thoughts up to the light”, murmurs the performer in the opening ritual of Purple Lips. “I have been looking out for him from over this broken bridge,” she continues, echoing the often solitary and mournful themes in Nico’s world of words. Smith hugs herself as if chilled by the emotion.

“My loneliness remains attending,” she repeats many times, as she moves into The Sphinx. Smith’s skill in delivering repeated phrases with subtle differences of emphasis peels new layers of meaning from the words.

The woodland morphs into ever changing light patterns and then back and forth to forestry, water and the shadowy figure of a woman. We move from the recognisable to the mystifying and emerge with a sense of the mystical.

Patti Smith @ Union Chapel

Patti Smith @ Union Chapel

Smith removes her glasses, smiles and launches into I WIll Be Seven, momentarily uprooting the mood of the evening. Yet, there is something haunting in this work, too. “I will be seven, when we meet in heaven”, she repeats. Is this a beautiful tale of a return to innocence or some terrible chant of infant loss? It could be read either way as we sit in the pews of a quiet church, hypnotised by Smith and the musicians, who play loops of music created with an array of strange instruments, including bowls and strings.

Patti Smith @ Union Chapel

Patti Smith @ Union Chapel

As the performance ends, I realise I have been taken into some kind of trance or meditation, where I barely remember the last song/reading. The evening ends with a bow from the group and a feeling of having glimpsed not just a tribute to an artist, but a journey from turmoil to peace. Which one can only hope reflects the journey Nico’s spirit has made.

Words by Imelda Michalczyk. 27 October 2014. Photography by Mark Allen for the Barbican.

James Morrison (Tom Oxley)

James Morrison Shares Stirring New Single ‘The Man Who Can’t Be Loved’ Ahead Of Sixth Album ‘Fight Another Day’

Fresh off the success of his comeback single Fight Another Day, James Morrison continues his triumphant return with a second taste of his upcoming album—The Man Who Can’t Be Loved—a soaring, soul-stirring piano ballad that’s classic Morrison through and through.

Jessie Murph (Press)

Jessie Murph Unveils New Single ‘Heroin’ And Details Sophomore Album ‘Sex Hysteria’

Breakout star Jessie Murph continues her meteoric rise with the release of Heroin, a vulnerable and emotionally...
Halestorm @ London Stadium (Kalpesh Patel)

Halestorm Ignite London Stadium With Ferocity, Heart, And An ‘Everest’ Taste Of What’s To Come

Opening for British metal legends Iron Maiden isn’t for the faint-hearted, particularly at the London Stadium—in front of 80,000 fired-up metal fans! But Halestorm have never been a band to flinch in the face of pressure. On Saturday night at London Stadium, the Pennsylvania rock veterans delivered a blistering, defiant set that not only won over the die-hard metal faithful but teased the future of a band still ascending.

Iron Maiden @ London Stadium (Kalpesh Patel)

Iron Maiden Keep On Trooping At London Stadium And Celebrate 50 Years At ‘Homecoming’

You have to feel a bit for Lzzy Hale and her band Halestorm this evening, warming up an Iron Maiden crowd is a...
Zach Bryan @ BST Hyde Park 2025 (Bethan Miller-Carey)

Zach Bryan Brings Americana Thunder to BST Hyde Park 2025

BST Hyde Park 2025 roared into its second day with a headline set that will be etched into festival folklore. Zach Bryan, the Oklahoma-born troubadour, delivered a powerful 23-song performance that spanned his six-year career — and marked his triumphant arrival on the UK’s biggest outdoor stage.

Korn @ Download Festival XXII - Sunday (Carolina Faruolo)

Masks, Mayhem, And Metal Legacies: Korn Bring Download Festival XXII To A Triumphant, Tear-Up Finale

The third and final day of Download Festival XXII is here, and whilst we’re sad it’s almost over, we’ll save the mourning for tomorrow and dive headfirst into everything it’s got.

Billy Idol @ Wembley Arena (Kalpesh Patel)

Billy Proves He Is No False Idol, But A Truly Authentic One At Wembley Arena

Fresh from being well received at the inaugural Forever Now festival as well as a surprise appearance alongside...
Wide angle photo of Opus Stage and Arena at DownloadXXII

From Chaos To Catharsis: Sleep Token Silence The Doubters As Day Two Of Download Festival XXII Delivers Big Moments And Bigger Emotion

We’re back for Day 2 of Download Festival XXII. Would today live up to the great start we had yesterday? Let’s see…

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This

Share Thing