Smashing Pumpkins reuniting will all the original members except for D’Arcy playing strictly songs from their first five albums? Yes, please! The last time I saw Smashing Pumpkins was about 11 years before this when they were promoting the Zeitgeist album without James Iha. That time was alright but the older stuff did not sound quite as thick without James.
After a little pre-funk at the bar down the street Ingrid, her friend Laney, her friend Laney’s friend Dick and I made our way to the venue and ended up getting there slightly late. We had no interest in the opening band and unfortunately misjudged the timing but thankfully only really missed “Disarm.”
Upon arrival I immediately was overtaken by familiar sounds of “Rocket” and was relieved that Billy Corgan’s voice had not lost that magic. What the fuck he was wearing was a different story. He appeared to be wearing a long silver skirt with some sort of gladiator type sandals with silver socks underneath. He could have been wearing a tutu for all I care but it was at the very least noteworthy.
About this time my “cookie” had reached peak effect and I was in hog heaven. A brilliant cover of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” was just around the corner and I think Bowie would have approved. While we are on the topic of covers let me just say this is the only time I can remember any band I have seen cover “Stairway to Heaven” and it was off the charts. The main guitar riff was replaced with piano but otherwise a very faithful rendition that left many jaws on the floor of the Aztec Arena.
For this “Shiny and Oh So Bright” tour they retained the services of extra guitarist Jeff Schroeder, which freed Billy Corgan up on many songs to get in touch with his inner showman or sit down at the piano. This was a fantastic production full of gems being shown on the mammoth video screens that were serving as a backdrop to the stage. I had a feeling that I would be hearing one of my favorite songs “Soma” at some point in the evening and I was right. To me that song perfectly sums up what I like about Smashing Pumpkins, which much like Black Sabbath is the soft and the heavy. Other standout moments for me were “Zero,” “Porcelina of the Vast Oceans,” and “Thirty-Three.” People for the most part were present and not on their phones for the nearly three hour set but to be fair most of us in attendance probably did not have our first cell phone until way after becoming fans of this band. Having James Iha back in the lineup made all the difference in the world and it was pure magic to see him and Billy make sweet music together again.
SETLIST: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Disarm, Rocket, Siva, Rhinoceros, Space Oddity, Drown, Zero, The Everlasting Gaze, Stand Inside Your Love, Thirty-Three, Eye, Soma, Blew Away, For Martha, To Sheila, Mayonaise, Porcelina of the Vast Oceans, Landslide, Tonight, Tonight, Stairway to Heaven, Cherub Rock, 1979, Ava Adore, Try, Try, Try, The Beginning Is the End is the Beginning, Hummer, Today, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Muzzle, Solara, Baby Mine
