Patti Smith Rocks Benaroya Hall

Patti Smith is one of those figures in art who we still have to explain to some people, and we can never figure out why. A founding figure in the New York Punk scene in the 1970's, an acclaimed poet and author, and a member of the rock and roll hall of fame, lots of people still tend to deliver blank stares until we bring up her only radio hit, Because the Night. It's...occasionally frustrating for fans.

Lack of recognition was no issue last night, though, when Smith appeared at a packed Benaroya Hall to deliver a knockout performance. After her introduction, Smith opened with a brief poetry reading before getting down to the order of the night and reading from her new book, Just Kids, a memoir of her life and friendship with storied photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, a book Smith emotionally described as "a book that took me a long time to write." (An aside to Mapplethorpe fans - you've got just a few more days to check out his early Polaroid photographs at the Henry Art Gallery.)

The evening found a bit more structure and comfort when Seattle rock critic Charles Cross stepped on to act as a capable foil and interviewer for Smith during the Q&A session that followed. Smith continued reading some selections from the new book when appropriate, and riffed at length, offering stories from her life and ruminations on questions posed by the audience. From stories about the Ramones and William S. Burroughs bringing a bottle of tequila and a fresh fish, respectively, to her sickbed to her dream collaboration with Russell Crowe - not as an actor or musician, but "as a girl" - Smith was in her element on stage, just talking. Roaming a wide range and digressing on topics from her status as an Oprah Magazine fashion icon, for which she insists she cannot be held responsible, to offering some of the best advice to creatively blocked artists your Seattlest has ever heard - "It's just like a 9 to 5 job. You con't just get up one day and decide 'I don't want to go.'"

But as much fun as it was to hear Smith read and ruminate, hearing her play is always the highlight of any evening, and last night was no exception. Her too brief acoustic set consisted of just a couple of songs, including the bittersweet Grateful and building to a head in a rendition of Beneath the Southern Cross that was worth the price of admission. But the acapella rendition of Because the Night that closed the show on a hall wide sing-along was more than just a great performance - it was an experience to be remembered for everyone there.