A progenitor of punk with an intractable public image, Patti Smith is a prickly icon. Yet, joined by her two children at Yoko Ono's Meltdown festival, the 66-year-old appears warm and almost cuddly. "I have the upper hand," she says, glancing at son Jackson on guitar and daughter Jesse on piano. "I changed both their diapers."

This maternal side of Smith adds an unexpected dimension to a life explored in poetry, recollections, excerpts from her award-winning memoir Just Kids and songs from her uncompromising, influential musical career.

Dressed in jeans and a baggy suit jacket, Smith starts with a poem, Art in Heaven. "Those who keep retracing their steps shall never die," she reads, ending with a grin that rarely disappears throughout the two-hour show.

Playing an acoustic guitar, the singer relishes each song, picking at the desperation of Pissing in a River, growling and barking through Banga and dedicating Beneath the Southern Cross to "Tony Soprano". She relives her vivid early impressions of New York and adventures with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, even sharing the final, poignant letter to her "great friend".

Smith opens up further by taking questions from the audience. Her replies are quick and funny. When asked if there's anything she still wants to do, she admits: "The thing I most dread is that I'm run over by a Volkswagen before I create a masterpiece."

Her children, meanwhile, play respectfully, sharing embarrassed looks at bum notes and embodying their mother's conflicting nature. When, during solitary hit Because the Night, Smith collapses into giggles, joker Jackson is quick to join her, much to Jesse's consternation. "But this is supposed to be your big song!" she beseeches. Pulling herself together, Smith continues with a vengeance. An equally vigorous encore of People Have the Power follows and a standing ovation ends an insightful, surprising and very entertaining glimpse into a true artist's heart.

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