Patti Smith | The New York Observer

Designer Jacobs Lauded by Pratt as Trustee is Carried Out on Stretcher

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:28:02 -0500

“For me, a legend is someone I look up to and I respect and admire, and I guess I’m not there yet for myself,” said designer Marc Jacobs humbly on Thursday, Oct. 29, at the Pratt Institute Legends award benefit, where he was one of the evening’s honorees.

“Just because they give me this prize doesn’t mean I am one,” added Mr. Jacobs, who wore black leather boots with white socks, a...

Poet Jim Carroll Left Behind Sad Punk Compatriots, Unfinished Novel

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:25:25 -0400

Jim Carroll, the legendary Manhattan poet and punk rocker, died of a heart attack on Friday, Sept. 12, at the age of 60.

On Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 15, the day before a private funeral service for family and friends, some New Yorkers who knew Carroll shared their memories of him with the Transom.

“Jim was a true poet in anything he did,” said Lenny Kaye, guitarist and longtime collaborator of singer Patti Smith,...

Punk Icon Patti Smith Waxes Poetic at Robert Miller Gallery

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:41:36 -0400

The fans who filled the Robert Miller Gallery in Chelsea on Thursday night, April 2, to hear punk icon Patti Smith perform songs and original poetry inspired by the 19th century French writer Arthur Rimbaud bowed their heads as Ms. Smith intoned the literary rebel's last words: ''I am completely paralyzed, and so I wish to embark in good time."

Rimbaud, who famously quit writing poetry when he was 20 years old to become...

New York, Tonight: March 11, 2009

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:45:14 -0400

7:30 p.m. "Singles Night Of Bull Riding & Beers" is hosted by Meet Market Adventures at Johnny Utah's: "home to the only mechanical bull in N.Y.C." At 25 West 51st Street. Dress code is "urban casual...and munchies will be provided." Admission price is $19.99.

7:30 p.m. American Organist Gail Archer Concert series kicks off at the Central Synagogue on 123 East 55th Street, admission is free.

7:30 p.m. Pete's Candy Store...

The Eight-Day Week: March 4 — 11

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:37:36 -0500

Wednesday, March 4

It’s March, mugwumps! And you know what that means: only four months till we can cast off these face-swallowing scarves and sweater blankets and start walking around practically naked—us ladies, that is!—while the mensfolk start to sweat through the back of their work shirts. (By then, we predict they’ll do anything in their work shirts!) In the meantime, let’s wallow some more? Three nice lady fiction writers...

Hot Tickets: Blonde Readhead, Crystal Castles, Monk Music at Lincoln Center

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:40:51 -0500

New Year’s Eve always seems to disappoint. Plans get left to the last minute, friends don’t show up, bars get too crowded, you don’t order those tequila shots in time for the ubiquitous midnight toast. And then it’s morning and you’ve got another 365 days to look forward to.

Well, not this year. In the interest of planning early—of not procrastinating—we’ve got a handful of New Year’s Eve shows for you, all courtesy of Bowery...

Hot Tickets: Patti Smith, Frightened Rabbit, Firebird Suite

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:04:17 -0500

If you haven’t yet made plans for New Year’s Eve (and you don’t already have My Morning Jacket tickets for their Madison Square Garden show), you might want to consider Ms. Patti Smith for your evening’s festivities. While Smith doesn’t exactly have a new studio album to promote, she’s certainly been in the headlines this year. July saw the release of The Coral Sea—a live rendering of a Smith poem of the same name,...

Will Patti Smith Show Up To Rock the Vote at La Esquina?

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:15:43 -0500

At Kenmare and Cleveland, a block party is getting underway in front of La Esquina, the super-hip, faux taco shop. Not-for-profit art gallery Storefront is setting up a soundsystem, and projecting ABC on the giant wall above the restaurant, which is giving out free hot chocolate. The big news? Storefront director Joseph Grima says that Patti Smith might come by and play a few tunes. (Wondering what time? He's hoping for sometime between now...

Jessica Lange and Patti Smith Team Up on Photo Book

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:51:05 -0400

Patti Smith, the godmother of punk rock, is still going strong. In October of 2006, she brought the curtain down on CBGB with a fiery closing night performance at the legendary Bowery venue. More recently, she’s garnered acclaim for her live double disc and Robert Mapplethorpe tribute, The Coral Sea, on which she collaborated with Kevin Shields of My Blood Valentine. And Steven Sebring’s new documentary, Patti Smith: Dream of Life (shot...

Chaos at the Chelsea! Hotel's Photo Party Erupts in Mayhem

Tue, 13 May 2008 18:43:44 -0400

Also on Friday, May 9, the Chelsea Hotel’s grand ballroom was opened for the first time in years, hung with more than 100 photographs of the ancient bohemian enclave and its many edgy inhabitants, including rockers Patti Smith and Dee Dee Ramone.

Celebrating its 125th anniversary, the legendary lodge recently saw its second management shake-up in less than a year amid stalled renovation plans and evictions of at least 15 tenants. Perhaps...

Gloria! It's Patti Smith on the Big Screen

Mon, 12 May 2008 17:21:59 -0400

Patti Smith – the Jersey-born queen of Bowery punk – hits the silver screen with Steven Sebring’s documentary Patti Smith: Dream of Life. The film should hit theaters in late summer, with a DVD release to follow next year, Variety reports. Mr. Sebring’s debut picked up a grand jury nomination at Sundance earlier this year.

After Mr. Sebring met the singer during a Spin photo shoot, the photographer followed her...

Stop Horsing Around! In Berlin, Patti Smith Chides Reporters, Decries Punk Rock Label

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 01:02:14 -0500

Don't call Patti Smith a punk rocker. While attending a screening of Steven Sebring’s new film, Patti Smith: Dream of Life, which intimately documents the life and career of the 61-year-old New York City icon, Ms. Smith was asked by a reporter how she felt being labeled as such. According to Reuters, she replied: “Every time you see a journalist that calls me a punk rocker, it's because they don't have the imagination or...

Patti Smith Rocks Rimbaud, Injures Elbow

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 13:25:27 -0400

Aging punk poet Patti Smith nearly tumbled off London's Shepherd's Bush Empire stage recently, injuring her elbow. She eventually found "balance" and laughed it off, according to NME.

Smith, 60, was in the capital performing one of her Rock N Rimbaud gigs, dedicated to the poet Arthur Rimbaud, when, during a fiery encore of 'Rock N Roll Nigger', she tripped on a speaker and fell flat on her face, cutting her elbow.

...

Mr. and Mrs. Smith: Hollywood Libs Join Punk Poet Patti in Honoring Her Hubby

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 18:45:26 -0400

On Friday, Sept. 14, at the Beacon Theatre, songwriter and singer Patti Smith gave her annual show in remembrance of her husband, MC5 guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith, who died of a heart attack in 1994. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was joined onstage by son Jackson on guitar and daughter Jesse on ukulele. Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea and Black Crowes guitarist Rich Robinson also participated in the jam session, the...

Earnest Emo-Boys and Angry Ladies: Bright Eyes Battles Patti and Tori!

Sun, 04 Mar 2007 19:00:00 -0500

On Feb. 13, Arcade Fire played to a sold-out crowd at Brooklyn’s Judson Church in what can only be described as the music industry’s equivalent of Groundhog Day. The Montreal band popped their furry little indie heads out, saw the anxious crowd—which included Fabrizio Moretti (wasn’t he in a band?) with his new canoodler, Kirsten Dunst—and determined that the spring music calendar would officially start early with the release of their second al-bum, Neon...

So Long, CBGBs, Part 43: Las Vegas Nights

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 03:52:31 -0500

When last we caught up with CBGBs, Patti Smith was closing the party down in a fine fettle. The other day, Sydney Beveridge met up with CBGB's proprietor and pals to ask: No really, what's next for the old punksters? After the eviction of CBGBs, Hilly Kristal packed up the awning and innards. They are currently sitting in a Connecticut storage facility. A few items are on eBay, and the rest is indeed, as suggested,...

Ed Koch Teaches the World His Bill Bradley Cheer

Sun, 05 Mar 2000 19:00:00 -0500

An Odd Bradley Event

Bill Bradley's New York backers are steeling themselves for a thumping in the March 7 primary at the hands of Vice President Al Gore. And it all looked so good once. Just a few months ago, he was even with or even ahead of Mr. Gore in the polls. Now he's far behind. But even before he decided to steer clear of New York in favor of a six-day visit to...

Smoldering Patti Smith Burns Through Bland Bio

Sun, 10 Oct 1999 20:00:00 -0400

Patti Smith: An Unauthorized Biography , by Victor Bockris and Roberta Bayley. Simon & Schuster, 336 pages, $25.

Patti Smith wallows in language. She chants. Rants. She loops incantations. The act of writing makes her kooky. "When I'm home writing on a typewriter," she said, "I go crazy. I move like a monkey. I've wet myself, I've come in my pants writing … I masturbate–14 times in a row." How many times did Victor Bockris...