September 14th, 2018, on the tail of the
Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, a benefit like no
other took place, aiming to remove the obstacles to realizing the Paris Accord. Spearheaded by the
Pathway to Paris founders,
Jesse Paris Smith and
Rebecca Foon, they transformed the always stunning
Masonic into a multidisciplinary artistic canvas to communicate about the immediacy of climate change.
Patti Smith, sounding the clarion call, was joined by
Bob Weir,
Flea,
Eric Burdon,
Imany, and other
international visionaries that took the stage, with all proceeds going to
350.org, the
Pathway to Paris foundation, and the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
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| Patti Smith and Rebecca Foon @ Pathway to Paris (Photo: Kate Haley) |
Smith, a most compelling representation of Gaia herself, is known for never ceding the ground she’s
made of. Tonight the Earth was cast as the increasingly impossible protagonist that was both vulnerable,
yet evolving, to no longer be hospitable to life. Much like Smith, who is self-described as “
a fucking animal” after a fall on a Glastonbury stage in 2015, the Earth is meeting that with fury, dispelling the still
prevalent concept of being the ultimate damsel in distress.
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| Patti Smith @ Pathway to Paris (Photo: Kate Haley) |
But it’s more complicated than that, as evidenced in 2016 when goddess Smith performed Bob Dylan's
"
A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" at the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony. She faltered, the piece of ground that
she was standing on shifted at the 1:50 time mark, leading her to give testimony to uncertainty and her
nervousness. Much like the Earth, there is a crossroad of honesty and resulting realities that we must
address.
But tonight, this oft-hailed priestess of punk, the stage spitting powerhouse, made me cry in
conjunction with an eight year old’s careful verse. Smith sang “Peaceable Kingdom” after second grader
Rhiannon Hewitt delivered her original poem about a wishful relationship with seven extinct species.
Smith’s own verse made it all real that this is a multigenerational problem, affecting present time and all
future generations.
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| Patti Smith with Flea @ Pathway to Paris (Photo: Kate Haley) |
There are so many notable performers in this collective. Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers brought the
funk, energizing the crowd with his solo performance of bass loops and trumpet bursts. Later he
powerfully backed Smith.
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| Imany @ Pathway to Paris (Photo: Kate Haley) |
French pop-soul singer Imany’s performance was a highlight. She came on with such brightness and
accessibility that it felt like hanging out with the extended family on a beautiful summer afternoon.
Pennie Opal Plant spoke to the importance of prayer with advocacy, inviting us to take a stand to
eradicate fossil fuel use in the Bay Area. Standing Rock showed us that international indigenous
communities, along with supporters, can really make their voices heard. Plant is continuing that wave in
the SF Bay Area.
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| Nikolaj Coster-Waldau @ Pathway to Paris (Photo: Kate Haley) |
Bill McKibben of
350.org, student-led advocacy group
Zero Hour, and a star of Game of Thrones and
UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, all gave powerful speeches. The Dali Lama sent
along a letter which was really taken in by the audience over the silent chorus of head nods.
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| Pathway to Paris Encore (Photo: Kate Haley) |
With Patti Smith preaching “The People Have the Power”, which also served as an epic encore with all
the performers on stage, led to the crowd filling postcards. A multimedia presentation of how our
children’s world will look very different than our generations if we don’t do something was breathtaking.
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| Eric Burdon @ Pathway to Paris (Photo: Kate Haley) |
There were so many additional areas of brightness. Eric Burdon and the Animals amped up the energy
further. Artist Olafur Eliasson spoke to energy equality turning the entire audience into artists, waking
up with a sunrise and winding down with a sunset of individual little solar-powered sunflower lights. Bob
Weir, unheard but with an almost fatherly presence when carefully talking with the young poet, stood
by her on the crowed stage.
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| Tenzin Choegyal @ Pathway to Paris (Photo: Kate Haley) |
Tenzin Choegyal, with a Tibetan choir of children, sang out clear. Watching them, and the joyful singing,
was unforgettable. Little kindnesses sprung up everywhere.
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| Bob Weir, Don Was, and Alex Koford @ Pathway to Paris (Photo: Kate Haley) |
Bob Weir played a hell of a set with Don Was on standup bass and Alex Koford on drums. Reaching back
to the Grateful Dead days for all but one song (“Only a River” off Weir’s Blue Mountain solo album), they
opened with a strong “Loose Lucy” and featured a “Peggy O”, closing with “Touch of Grey”. Mid-set Jack
“Ramblin’ Man” Elliot joined Weir on the stage for an intimate “Friend of the Devil” having been handed
Weir’s acoustic guitar. “The Other One” brought us down an unchartered jazz-inspired path Ben and
Jerry’s, a sponsor of the event, produced a beautiful video of Weir’s set at Pathway to Paris that’s a
must-see.
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| Bob Weir with Jack Elliot @ Pathway to Paris (Photo: Kate Haley) |
Patti Smith shared that it would have been Fred “Sonic” Smith’s, whom she literally called the love of
her life, 70th birthday that night. He pushed her to write “The People Have the Power” in 1988.
If I learned anything that night, it’s that love calls on us to do great things. We have the
chance—today—to let it overcome our inertia. Be sure to learn more about
Pathway to Paris and what you can do
now.
We've included the second half of the show below that includes the unbelievable encore. You can find the first part of the event
here thanks to event sponsor,
Ben & Jerry's. (Unfortunately, embedding was disabled for part 1)
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