Patti Smith performed seminal album 'Horses' in its entirety at the Royal Festival Hall on Saturday, as part of the previously reported line up of the 2005 Meltdown festival, curated by Smith herself. The singer brought the festival to its climax dressed in clothes identical to those worn in the photograph on the cover of the album, which was shot by legendary photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.
A source told NME.com: "There was complete hero worship from audience and a massive rush to front of stage as soon as she began singing. All aisles remained packed for the entire performance. She was bantering with the audience a lot - lots of people shouting out at her from the crowd. She got so carried away doing side two of the album that at the end of an awesome version of 'Land' she left the stage forgetting to do the final track 'Elegie'."
Rest assured she returned for an encore to play that final track, however, as well as a cover of The Who's 'My Generation'. During the course of the evening she also paid tribute to "friends who couldn't be with us tonight" and mentioned Robert Mapplethorpe, William Burroughs and Jim Morrison. A 'fan' said "She hasn't lost any of the passion, energy and raw power. It was a totally visceral and unapologetic performance."
The festival ended on Sunday, with 'Songs Of Experience: The Work Of Jimi Hendrix And The Music That Inspired Him' an event featuring contributions from the aforementioned Patti Smith, Jeff Beck, Flea and John Frusciante.