Smashing Pumpkins 9/1/18

SP 9:1 Ticket

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

Smashing Pumpkins 9/19/07

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I had not seen the Smashing Pumpkins since the first time I saw them back in 2000 for free not long before they broke up. After one side project (Zwan), one Billy Corgan solo album (TheFutureEmbrace) and seven years Billy wanted his old band back. The only original member he brought back into the fold was drummer Jimmy Chamberlain and the reunion resulted in the album Zeitgeist that was released less than two months before this show. This was my first concert at the Open Air Theatre at SDSU, a nifty little concrete amphitheater built outside the library on campus.

Shortly after Donna and I arrived Macy’s best friend Esther spotted me, started running towards me from about 20 feet away and jumped into the air, making me catch her. The collective feeling of “what the fuck” from Esther’s husband Carlos, Donna and myself was palpable (Carlos and Esther’s marriage would sadly last less than a year). After that awkward exchange Donna and I found our way to the great seats we had in the lower section of the venue. As per my M O, I sparked up a joint as soon as Smashing Pumpkins hit the stage and as per unspoken rules I puff puff gave the joint to Donna. The problem with having good seats closer to the stage is that you are also closer to multiple security personnel. I apparently had not accounted for all of the security and was immediately caught as the handoff was occurring. Donna was trying to play it cool when the security guard had his flashlight in her face denying that she had anything. After what seemed like an eternity I convinced her to hand it over knowing that if his intention was to kick us out we would already be walking. At least SOMEONE got to smoke the joint that night…

The Pumpkins were good but to be fair I had seen them in what is essentially a bar prior to this and I never really got into Zeitgeist like I had all the previous material. “Tarantula” seemed to be the song that the band was most in sync with each other on so that was quite enjoyable when they all locked into the groove. All in all Billy Corgan is a badass and I will always remember the ONE time I got busted with my joint.

SETLIST: Superchrist, Doomsday Clock, Hummer, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Drown, Bring the Light, That’s the Way (My Love Is), Tonight, Tonight, Tarantula, Glass and the Ghost Children, 1979, To Sheila, United States, Today, Ava Adore, Starla, Heavy Metal Machine/White Rabbit/On the Road Again, Silverfuck/The End, Muzzle

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Smashing Pumpkins 2/5/00

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I was really excited to see the Smashing Pumpkins because I had liked them pretty much since learning of them after Siamese Dream came out. I also don’t remember really getting another chance to see them after I missed out on Lollapalooza 1994. This show was a weird free concert thrown by the radio station KUFO. The protocol was to show up at Music Millennium in uptown Portland earlier in the week to receive a bracelet that you would in turn have to wear for the next few days to get you into the concert. I believe they ended up changing some of the details but ultimately Roscoe and I got in and the show was held at Berbati’s Pan, which is a very small venue. It’s more like a bar than a proper place to see a band of magnitude like the Smashing Pumpkins, which is probably why they ended up playing a semi-acoustic show. They were still about a month away from releasing the MACHINA/the machines of God album but that did not stop them from playing songs from the then unreleased album. The original band was intact with the exception of D’arcy Wretzky who was replaced by Melissa Auf der Maur for bass duties. Billy Corgan looked genuinely happy and had a very distinct way of rocking his body when he played guitar. The whole thing was very informal and they actually had a little Q & A near the end. I was also able to go up to Billy and shake his hand after the performance was over. I said, ”thanks for rocking” and he winked at me! It was a little weird but I’ll take it. The other really memorable thing was that the sticker you see was actually affixed to a bald cap wig in honor of Billy’s shaved head. Many people were wearing them, which looked pretty funny on a crowd as a whole.

SETLIST: Glass and the Ghost Children, Crush, I of the Morning, Today, Blue Skies Bring Tears, Heavy Metal Machine, If There Is A God, Age of Innocence, 1979, Everybody (Backstreet’s Back), Join Together, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Rock On, Zero

Audio of the entire show

MACHINA:the machines of God