Patti Smith falls on stage (2007)

[schwenko]

from nme.com

Proto-punk icon injures elbow at Shepherd's Bush show

New York punk poet Patti Smith took a tumble while
playing live at the weekend (October 21), narrowly
missing the edge of the stage at London's
Shepherd's Bush Empire.

Smith, 60, was in the capital performing one of
her Rock N Rimbaud gigs, dedicated to the poet
Arthur Rimbaud, when, during a fiery encore of
'Rock N Roll Nigger', she tripped on a speaker and
fell flat on her face, cutting her elbow.

Despite not getting up for a few agonising
seconds, the singer finally rose to loud cheers,
humorously following the fall with a speech about
"not losing your balance" in life.

She then gave the speaker a kick in retaliation.

"I'm not even fucking embarrassed because I've
done far worse," Smith laughed. "May [guitars] be
the only weapons we use, may tripping up be the
only humiliations we suffer, and may these
[pointing to her scuffed elbow] be the only battle
scars."

Earlier, Smith's set had included favourites like
'Horses', 'Gloria', 'We Three' - which she
dedicated to Television leader Tom Verlaine [who
she admitted to lusting after at CBGBs] - and
'Because The Night'.

She also sang blistering covers of Nirvana's
'Smells Like Teen Spirit', Jimi Hendrix's classic
'Are You Experienced' and The Rolling Stones'
anthem 'Gimme Shelter'.

Patti Smith was joined by guitarist Lenny Kaye,
who she performed with at her first ever Rock N
Rimbaud gig in New York in 1971.