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Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg, Yoko, Flea, Cale...

Patti Smith live knees Patti! Patti! Patti! Smith! Smith! Smith!

O' what a wonderful festival. It takes place every year at Royal Festival Hall on the Southbank in London. In past years Morrissey, Scott Walker, Lee 'Scratch' Perry and Bowie have picked the bills, this year, 30 years on from the release of 'Horses', Patti Smith, the legend, gets to pick the bill and what a bill it is, so far...

Friday 17th June:
Royal Festival Hall: Rachid Taha with special guest Patti Smith
Queen Elizabeth Hall: Yoko Ono

Saturday 18th June:
RFH: Songs of Innocence Protest Songs and Lullabies Feat. Patti Smith, Sinead O'Connor, Beth Orton, Kristin Hersh (Throwing Muses)
QEH: Billy Bragg

Sunday 19th June:
RFH: Steve Earle & Patti Smith

Wednesday 22nd June:
QEH: The Coral Sea Feat. Patti Smith, Cat Power and Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine)

Thursday 23rd June:
RFH: Stand Bravely Brothers A homage to Berthold Brecht Feat. Patti Smith, Marc Almond, Neil & Tim Finn, Antony & The Johnsons, Dresden Dolls, London Sinfonietta

Friday 24th June:
QEH: Antony & The Johnsons

Saturday 25th June:
RFH: Patti Smith performs Horses With special guest John Cale

Sunday 26th June:
RFH: Songs Of Experience The work of Jimi Hendrix and the music that inspired him Feat. Patti Smith, Jeff Beck, Flea & John Frusciante (Red Hot Chilli Peppers) and many more...

Many more events and names to be announced in coming weeks. Tickets are going onsale on Thursday 5th May at 9am. Box Office number will be 08703 808 300. The event usually sells out pretty darn quick, so get yo shi' together. rfh.org.uk/meltdown

DiScuss: Who else do you think Patti will ask to play? Will you be there? What's your favourite Patti song? Anyone see her at St Giles? What a show that was...



  • Patti Smith Meltdown: Yoko, Flea, Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg...

    Am I the only one who feels a bit queasy whenever he hears the Antony and the Johnsons single?
    • Re: Patti Smith Meltdown: Yoko, Flea, Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg...

      i'd quite like to see what they're like live...
    • Patti Smith Meltdown: Yoko, Flea, Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg...

      His voice sounds like the bastard child of an opera singer, a theremin and someone out of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. I like it.
    • Re: Patti Smith Meltdown: Yoko, Flea, Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg...

      ive got to admit his voice can be unsettling when im in certain moods but in general i love it and the album as whole. any know what his 1st albumm is like?
      • Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg, Yoko, Flea, Cale...

        So Marc Almond's recovered from his motorcycling accident? Splendid! And I guess the brothers Finn have recovered from the loss of the Crowded House drummer...
      • Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg, Yoko, Flea, Cale...

        'shields' KEVIN SHIELDS!!! playing, like, music? this is the biggest news i've ever seen reduced to one word. Is it his own stuff or is he just playing like he does in primal scream in which case i dont care.
        • Re: Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg, Yoko, Flea, Cale...

          all we know is the line-up. i'd imagine the observer will have more info on sunday as they're sponsoring it.
      • Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg, Yoko, Flea, Cale...

        WOW! What a line up (so long as Flea manages NOT to play slap for songs that never had it at all!).

        Seeing Horses with John Cale would be a religious experience. AND there's the protest song thingamajig with Beth Orton and Kristin Hersh. That too would be amazing.

        I hate being skint. esp during festival season!
      • Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg, Yoko, Flea, Cale...

        I wonder if nobody told her she doesn't have to play EVERY show.
      • Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor,

        Wow, Patti Smith playing Horses in full on my birthday...and then Antony & the Johnsons the day before...fuck all my mates going glastonbury for that weekend ha ha
      • Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg, Yoko, Flea, Cale...

        Kevin Shields will appear with Patti Smith and Cat Power for a night based around Patti's book, The Coral Sea which is a short work about Robert Mapplethorpe (The Photographer who shot the cover image of Horses)
      • Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg, Yoko, Flea, Cale...

        cat power :-)

        okay so im sure im going to sound stupid here, but what are the 'RFH' and 'QEH' abbreviations all about??

        sorry if thats an uber-dumb question.

        x
        • Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg, Yoko, Flea, Cale...

          shit. sorry. just worked it out. still feelin a bit slow after a heavy one last nite. i'll leave you alone now.

          OUT
        • Re: Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg, Yoko, Flea, Cale...

          RFH - Royal Festival Hall
          QEH - Queen Elizabeth Hall

          All part of the South Bank complex which is bloody brilliant if equally ugly.
      • Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg, Yoko, Flea, Cale...

        Patti Smith is my hero. She is the greatest live act ever - inspiring, shamanic, charismatic. The most amazing woman. I want to go to every night of this bill. It looks like such a great line-up.
      • Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg, Yoko, Flea, Cale...

        Line up is rubbish.

        Surely Sonic Youth should be on the bill.

      • Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg, Yoko, Flea, Cale...

        that coral sea thing should be interesting with cat power, patti and shields. what's with the william blake theme?
      • Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg, Yoko, Flea, Cale...

        is there a William Blake theme? Explain. I know Billy Bragg had an album called William Bloke, but he's really started to irrate me the past few years.
        • Re: Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg, Yoko, Flea, Cale...

          irritate*
        • Re: Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg, Yoko, Flea, Cale...

          I think Patti is a bit of a Blake fan. Innit. I think she did some kind of evening completely based on him before, i think it was in cornwall or something...there may have been naked people...on reflection i think i just dreamt it.
          sx
      • Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor,

        Is the RFH site selling tickets or ticketmaster? Or is it phoneline only?
      • Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg, Yoko, Flea, Cale...

        The William Blake link is the Songs of Experience/Songs of Innocence nights. These are two seperate Blake poems, the first Patti Smith has related to children and the second has taken on a Jimi Hendrix theme .

        Tickets go on sale on Tuesday from 08703 808 300 and www.rfh.org.uk
      • Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor,

        Thursday according to the site
      • Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg, Yoko, Flea, Cale...

        yeah sorry it is Thursday a 9am.
      • Re: Patti Smith Meltdown: Yoko, Flea, Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg...

        yeah its aweful.

        like before xmas - when i had my antony and the jonsons phase - which saw me in a bout of delerium shell £6.99 on the single on 12" (limited edition... boohoo)
        - that happened because the first album was so crap.
        it left me feeling really ambivelant i couldnt work out whether i absolutley loathed it or really loved it.
        thankgod i didnt buy it..
        it really sounded like he'd held a west end music hostage and abused their orchestra.

        however - the new album though it does make me feel queasy depending on my mood too - but its better than the old one
        but thats possibly cos of the stellar cast of cameos that redeem it...
  • Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg, Yoko, Flea, Cale...

    To go to Glasto on the Wednesday or stay for Cat Power/Sheilds/Patti? Argh! Decisions.
  • Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg, Yoko, Flea, Cale...

    I'm having the same crisis - I think it's going to have to be Glastonbury, and my tent-loathing friend can tell me how great it was when I get back... assuming he can get a ticket. Maybe Kevn will venture down to the festival for a surprise guest appearance on Sunday night.. I can dream..
  • Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg, Yoko, Flea, Cale...

    getting tickets is proving to be impossible... anyone had any joy?
  • Patti Smith Meltdown: Cat Power, Orton, O'Connor, Shields, Bragg, Yoko, Flea, Cale...

    Right, go to Ticketmaster and type in Meltdown...there ya go!