Well That Was Rough

[bombaysaffires]

it was, technically, a bad performance. She wasn't too sure where the hell she was-- in many ways. She couldn't remember her lyrics, she couldn't articulate them properly when she did.... not good.

I think what those who enjoy it are saying is really more that it is entertaining. That's different. Despite the mistakes they found it compelling, fun, spontaneous. And that's fine if you are sitting in the audience and have paid good money and want to be entertained and see something you wouldn't see anywhere else.

For Stevie, regardless of how she chooses to paint it, it had by that time become a genuine life risk. Paul Fishkin, who was there, talks about her coming to the brink of overdosing more than once. She had days where she was totally incoherent. Tom Petty talks about basically just expecting to get the call that she was dead from an overdose. There are pics of her during that time where there is always someone standing on either side of her, holding her up. Fishkin says there were times "we had to scrape her off the floor" ... literally. Mick talks about how scary it was, she was soooo far gone and there were nights she didn't know she was onstage. I think all of that qualifies as a very bad situation indeed.

Again, for some this made for very entertaining performances to watch. I get it. But for others, and call me a prude if you like but I am one of them, such performances are mostly cringe-worthy. They aren't performances she wants to be remembered for. I totally get the point people are making that at least on coke she had a tremendous amount of energy and seemed like she was having some fun onstage versus her very static, stand-still-and-wave-my-arms performances lately. But let's also remember those shows were 30 years or so ago. She was still in her 30s; she's now in her 60s. Inevitably her onstage antics will have changed. And if she's got a foot injury and other issues (maybe with her hands/wrists, etc) then that makes her less likely to be jumping around too. I'd kill to see her do a high kick in the boots again, but it just ain't gonna happen. But I'll take her standing still over her having a manic overdose any day.