Nothing common about this Smyth

You told the brief story of musician Ryan Adams, who stopped a concert when a fan jokingly yelled out a request for a song by Bryan Adams (“Quick Takes,” Oct. 17). Ryan turned on the lights and refused to continue until said fan was ejected from the arena. You didn’t mention if Mr. Adams had a solitary tear rolling pitifully down his cheek while all this happened.

This amusing story reminded me of a performance I had the pleasure of seeing a few years ago of New York rocker Patty Smyth. The show was a fund-raising concert she put on for the benefit of the firemen who saved her Malibu-area home from fire during a summer dry spell.

During the show, Patty asked the house what they wanted to hear. A fan screamed “Because the Night,” a hit for poet-singer Patti Smith, she of the hairy armpits. The crowd got a good laugh out of it and so did the lovely Miss Smyth, who not only complied with the request but put her own extemporaneous spin on it, fashioning some pretty amusing lyrics to a song she introduced as “Because the Fire” and dedicating it with gratitude to all the firemen in the audience.

Steve Knight

Los Angeles