I'll crash whenever I want.

After releasing a statement on Wednesday outlining why she was still going to perform for the tenants at the Chelsea Hotel—despite their wishes—Patti Smith changed her mind and pulled out of the performance shortly before she was due onstage last night.

However, even though she bowed to the pressure and cancelled her Thursday performance for the tenants railing against her, The Architect's Newspaper reports how she still did performed at the hotel this week to a crowd of media and art folks, a private performance for the hotelier on Wednesday. It seems the revered Ms. Smith has suffered from a serious bout of flip-flopping on the issue, which now appears to have been grossly ill judged, leaving her contradicting herself.

Her statement on Wednesday read:

"My allegiance is to the Hotel itself, and I have done nothing to tarnish it."

Last nights cancellation statement read:

"My motivation was solely to serve the tenants."

"If you want to give a concert for us great,  but chose a neutral venue, one where Chetrit will not be sponsoring you." Wrote 16-year Chelsea Hotel tenant and editor of the Living with Legends blog, Ed Hamilton, before the gig got cancelled.

Ms. Smith originally said she wanted to perform in order to "communicate directly" with the tenants. Now, everyone loves a good musical, but it seems she could have saved herself a whole lot of time communicating through the old fashioned way, or as we like to call it: talking.

This whole episode is a music pun dream (note how we've smartly avoided 'people have the power'... well until just now). It seems Neil Young was onto something when he said, "music can't save the world." Heck, it can't even save someone from eviction.

sduffy@observer.com