Patti
I just went to what was supposedly a "lecture," but what turned out to be mostly music with a little commentary featuring Patti Smith. With the Tigers game on (which I almost went to as well and would have for very cheap if Stub Hub hadn't pulled tickets off their site) and Ghostbusters on the big screen nationwide (including here) it's hard to go to what you think's going to be just someone speaking, but it's Patti Smith and I love her enough for that to trump those two things. Besides, I live it Flint, MI...not Chicago or some other cultural mecca city that has things like this ever time you turn around. I can't pass up seeing Patti Smith in person for free at a place that nearly borders my property line, even if she wasn't actually playing music (or so I thought).
So I went expecting just a nice little talk, and maybe a song or two at most (if we were lucky). It ended up being a 1 1/2 hour show with a little bit of commentary here and there. I saw her rock out in full force a few years back and realized that the older generation can still kick the crap out of almost anyone our generation has produced live. This time, it was great to see her in a more stripped down, softer format. It was very basic with just her (occasionally with an acoustic guitar) and her daughter on piano, other than closing with a full band of MCC students on "Because the Night." After they were selling paperback copies of "Just Kids," and she was signing those and pretty much anything else you had. Was lucky enough to stay and meet her and have her sign 2 things for me. Pretty happy about my day, and not a bad draw for a lecture at a community college.
The music geek in me that used to obsess over set-lists and do show recaps died several years ago, for the most part. Lately I just enjoy shows and sit back and forget what happened, but I found myself emailing myself every song name as she went along for a recap from my phone. So here's that in order:
Grateful
My Blakean Year
Mother Rose
Beneath the Southern Cross
It's a Dream (N. Young)
Pissing in a River
Peaceable Kingdom
People Have the Power
Because the Night (w/ Mott Students)
I'm glad my Stub Hub thing for the game tonight fell through, and I'm glad I'm not a lame sports dude that would shove off doing something like this to watch a game on TV. I think that guy's a little dead too. I'm still watching a bit, but it's way down the priority list these days. I just have stopped feeling the need to put my time, energy, and money into it. I can use those things for my own benefit rather than hang it on some millionaires playing for billionaires whose winning only ends in Detroit's residents partially paying for a parade for teams they probably can't afford to even take their families to. The face value of the Tiger ALCS tickets were $100+ per. How many Michigan residents can pay that and not have to think about how it will affect their budget? The only way I was going was because Stub Hub dropped to $10-20/ea and I thought it may be nice to see what's probably the last game of the year with our best pitcher and kinda hang around the park for cheap. They're all still a great games, I've just soured on the players, owners, and the public money/politics/government involved in pro and college sports, and I think blindly contributing makes it worse. So I'm limiting my contribution.