Having created some of the most powerful and poetic rock and roll ever made, Patti Smith could’ve spent the rest of her days basking in the glow of her groundbreaking genius of yore. Instead, she keeps pushing forward, regularly releasing good new music and blowing the minds of even die-hard fans with her National Book Award–winning memoir Just Kids. Tonight, Smith returns to live performance, gracing the stage of the Neptune with guitarist Lenny Kaye—Smith’s collaborator for the past 35 years—by her side. (Neptune Theater, 1303 NE 45th St, stgpresents.org, 8 pm, $36 adv/$38.50 DOS, all ages)

David Schmader—former weed columnist and Stranger associate editor—is the author of the solo plays Straight and Letter to Axl, which he’s performed in Seattle and across the US. His latest...