The Great Pumpkins
whfs press
1996 issue #1
by Gina Crash
It was quite possibly the shortest itinerary in rock-n-roll history: the Smashing Pumpkins' three city warm-up club tour Toronto/DC/New York. Plenty of room for artwork on the back of that concert tee! Okay, four cities if you include the October 23rd worldwide simulcast (and technical nightmare) from hometown Chicago on the eve of the release of MCIS.
Washingtonians should consider themselves lucky. It's been a long time since this triple platinum Lolapolooza headlining band played an intimate setting. We're talking about a band whose fourth gig ever involved opening for Jane's Addiction. A band that opened for rising stars Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers at our own American University on November 9, 1991 [holly note, and at UMCP too!]. A band that worked with Butch Vig just months before Nirvana made him a household name. And if you want to get real personal, a band leader that hooked up with Courtney Love only hours before she meet Kurt [holly note.. here we go again].
It's no wonder that ever since the early days the Pumpkins haven't had time to delay with indie bands shouting 'sellout' or to read articles painting them as a dysfunctional family run by a control freak who idolizes Cheap Trick. But that image is changing. Lately, articles that were once filled with unfavorable terms like whiny, controlling, neurotic, breakdown, and even breakup have been replaced with kudos for their epic double CD, and yes- even staggering success! One thing hasn't changed, though. Billy still thinks that Cheap Trick is the ultimate band.
This time around the SP were their own opening act, leading Billy to apologize at the Academy show in NY on January 11th. " We know you intended too see another band, but we're happy to play for you anyway." They would have been a tough act to follow. When he introduced the band on stage he said, "We're the Smashing Pumpkins (no!). We used to play here before that whole Lollapalooza thing." This Billy seemed a lot more humble than the old Billy who taunted and antagonized kids in the audience during a November 1993 show at Radio Music Hall with Swerve driver.
How did fans go about getting tickets to such an historic event? Enter the ticket distribution system. Fans actually purchased vouchers that were redeemable with identification on the day of the show for a neon commemorative ticket (holly note, is not neon, it is beautiful, James) featuring the band's heads floating around a tree. (Billy's head was still slightly larger than the rest of the band's). Thankfully, it was a scalper's worst nightmare. Although, it may seem complicated on paper, the exclusivity of a strict voucher/ticket distributions system wasn't meant to exclude the real fans but to make sure it was the real fans who made it into the show and not just anyone with a redial. Now where could the real fans get these vouchers? Here in CD fans could buy vouchers in the comfort of the HFS parking lot, at the old 9:30, or at GO! Compact Discs in Arlington. In NY, at least five competing radio stations vied for that luxury. None of them got it. [holly note: hfs is slightly gloating and I apologized for this.
The extraordinary two and a half hour show was divided into two acts, during the first of which most of the band was in pajamas, except for D'arcy , who had donned a dress and heels. Bald Billy changed into his favorite superhero ZERO shirt for the second act, while D'arcy ditched the dress for pants. The stage was sparsely decorated with an odd flowering tree like the one on the commemorative ticket, resembling those bathtub decals that keep you from skidding. Musically, act one focused on the acoustic songs (mostly from MCIS) that probably wouldn't have translated quite so well in a huge stadium: Tonight, Tonight, In the Arms of Sleep, Cupid de locke, 33, Lily, Take Me Down, Beautiful, Galapogos, plus two from the triple platinum Siamese Dream- Today and Rocket.
Act two ripped into a fury with the melancholy metal- Zero, An ode to no one, to forgive, Here is No Why [holly note:mistake, it was in the acoustic], jellybelly, Porcelina of the vast seas, BWBW, Thru the eyes of Ruby, 1979, X.Y.U., We only come out at Night, By Starlight, Muzzle, plus three more from Siamese Dream- Geek USA, Silverfuck and Cherub Rock. Then came the feedback fest. Billy got to live out his monsters-of-cherub-rock star fantasies toward the end of the sent, launching into 10 minutes of mind bending guitar strokes.
For the first time in performance history, the Pumpkins seemed like a band. They enjoyed each other on stage. [holly note: they always did] D'ary and Jimmy Chamberlin (drums) smiled. Billy let James (iha, guitars) play his instrument, and James even got to sing a song. Then James, whom Billy dubbed "encore guy", politely asked the audience ," Shall we play more medleys for you?" Medleys indeed. The band was so tight it was like sneaking a peek into the Flood sessions. Let's just say if they offered to pour mud on the audience to recreate the video for "BWBW" there would have been plenty of eager volunteers.
IF you missed the great Pumpkins this time, or if they didn't come to your patch, the band will return to the road this spring or summer in more cities, although not in the same quaint settings. But something tells me Billy will still be wearing his Zero shirt. And if you're lucky, he might even treat you to a couple of Cheap Trick covers.