SMASHING PUMPKINS - GIBSON AMPITHEATRE, UNIVERSAL CITY, CA - WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3,2008
First off, let me just say that the above photo is no longer accurate, as D'arcy and James Iha are no longer in the band. So there's that. Then, as far as the show went...how do I say this nicely? OK, you've seen "This Is Spinal Tap," I take it? Yes. Especially the "Jazz Odyssey" part? Exactly.
This show was an audacious shambles. It was especially dispiriting considering Billy Corgan's still-apparent talent. A.) He's a lovely singer, who brought the audience to tears with his rendition of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" early on in the set. B.) He's a tirelessly excellent guitarist, who can and will bust out any style you want on that thing. C.) Those SONGS! The man's got songwriting chops that he flat-out refused to show us after a sprinkling of hits at the beginning. He pulled a bait-and-switch, and we're not happy about it.
Here's what he did play: He started off quite nice and strange with "Ava Adore," dressed to the Halloween hilt in a long black cossack-style robe and a pumpkin basket full of glitter to shower on the front row. He had some little kids with baskets to help him onstage as well. The whole show had a very bizarre flavor due to Corgan's eccentricities and "piss off" attitude. This is not as cool as it sounds. He also managed to eke out "1979," "Disarm," "Cherub Rock," "Landslide," and a spectacular "Zero," which is clearly one of his best songs.
That sounds great, right? Well, subtract that half-hour from almost three hours of playing and a disgruntled 90's baby you will find. Billy Corgan and his massive band (he had at least 7-8 people onstage at any given time, and it seemed to swell to almost 12 during some of the more symphonic arrangements) cycled through every prog rock band you can think of, plus a couple of other styles for good measure, with nary a Smashing Pumpkins tune in sight. It was like being at a Pink Floyd, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Genesis, Yes, ELO, Fela Kuti (yes, there was some Afrobeat in there), Bad Company, Paul Simon, and King Crimson show all at the same time. Plus, add some musical theater in there with some kind of weird arrangement of "Little Red Riding Hood" (complete with embarrassing wolf howls) and I'm reaching for my revolver.
Now, if this sounded cool, like TV On The Radio's 2006 "Return To Cookie Mountain" album, then this might be excusable. But this was nothing but out and out wankery. And it was boring. People were literally bailing out during the set, or, if they stuck around, they were yawning and falling asleep. Not cool.
Here are some videos for some Smashing Pumpkins songs that I would have liked to hear. Enjoy them instead of wasting good money in this recession on this hot tranny mess of a live show:
Smashing Pumpkins - Today (from their 1993 album, Siamese Dream)
Smashing Pumpkins - Siva (from their 1991 album, Gish)
Smashing Pumpkins - Drown (Live at Chicago Metro, 1992 - from the 1992 Singles soundtrack)
Smashing Pumpkins - Glynis (live; from the 1993 compilation record, No Alternative)
Smashing Pumpkins - Blue (from their 1994 B-sides compilation, Pisces Iscariot)
Smashing Pumpkins - Stand Inside Your Love (from their 2000 album, Machina/The Machines of God)
I hate to go off like this, but I felt he really did a disservice to his fans last night. Billy Corgan went off on how, the last he checked, he wasn't anybody's bitch, and even berated a guy for asking the band to play "1979" again. Some gullible, corny older rock guy standing behind me and my fiance was like, "Well, you can't tell an artist what to do." No, you certainly can't, but it is also the responsibility of the artist to stay in tune with his audience and show them respect, since they slapped their hard-earned money down for a ticket and all. I just found the show and Billy Corgan rather inauthentic, barring fleeting moments of genius. That is all.
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