Patti Smith In Her Own Lights

There was a Patti Smith concert in Cleveland and everybody was there: you had the local cognoscenti hanging out making sure they were seen 'cause Patti is the next big thing & maybe if they're seen enough times they can land that A&R job in New York. You had the local band members maybe secretly believing they should be headlining the concert, swapping who-quitwhat stories. You had the she's-one-ofus lesbian contingent, you had the hardcore fans who'd followed her ever since Seventh Heaven was published and overlapping with these the basement people in droves. Cleveland is full of them, pouring out of their parents' houses and their obscure paint-peeling apartments leaving their Flaming Groovies singles behind to come hear Patti, all there for two sellout nights to hear a cult figure with 'lotsa promotion try and almost but not quite make the jump from New Jersey ugly duckling fan hanging on the stage at Stones concerts to rock 'n' roll star on her own stage facing the audience and not in it.