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New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
David Smyth's rating
Reader rating
Cover versions often suggest a dearth of ideas, little more than noise to fill the space where invention should be. New York punk instigator Patti Smith, however, has made a career out of taking other people's songs and running with them for miles, her extraordinary reworking of Them's Gloria sounding every bit as radical as the original tracks on her landmark 1975 album, Horses.
Her latest work, Twelve, foregoes new material in favour of her take on hits by everyone from Jefferson Airplane to Paul Simon and Tears for Fears. While the album is mostly disappointingly straightforward, in concert almost every song was emblazoned with incendiary improvised poetry that made for a thrilling, freeform show.
At 60, aside from the shaggy grey hair, from the depths of the crowd she looked much the same as she did on the cover of Horses, prowling the stage in black jacket, white shirt and skinny black tie. Her small band, including constant stage companion Lenny Kaye, watched her constantly in a vain attempt to keep up with her digressions, missing their cue even so after a meandering monologue about the British Museum that served as her introduction to White Rabbit.
Nirvana's dangerously overfamiliar Smells Like Teen Spirit was given the most gripping new form, becoming a tense bluegrass ballad that climaxed in poignant new lyrics about a "golden-haired lad", clearly addressed to the late Kurt Cobain. Neil Young's Helpless and The Doors' Soul Kitchen were less inspired, as was the least likely cover of the evening, Tears For Fears' Everybody Wants to Rule the World.
But when it segued into a wall of frenzied guitars and an idealistic closing rant about saving the planet, the raw power of Smith's voice once again made the song, and the room, entirely her own.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
Re visiting the Roundhouse was not nostalgia for Patti Smith, who made each of the songs from the "Twelve" album her own with fine, acerbic comments adding to the overall structure of the songs. It seems that Patti's strength is as a performance artist. interpreting and engaging , almost daring you to join in with her and to feel the moment. At times she seems to cross the abyss and become so involved with the song that the audience hang on to every word. The Camden air afterwards was fresh and the buzz leaving the venue was electric. Great concert...
- P, Hounslow, England
