The show was an exercise in excess to say the least. The Smashing Pumpkins at the Showbox SoDo in Seattle sold out shortly after tickets went on sale. The doors opened shortly after 8:00pm as the crowd filtered in to stake out their spots. Many couldn't help but reminisce, looking back to the '90s after spotting the "Zero" shirts hanging up on the wall. The crowd was in for a night of sensory overload.
The opening band, Bad City, supporting their debut Welcome to the Wasteland, took the stage at 8:45pm quickly becoming the unofficial Smashing Pumpkins cheerleading squad. Lead singer Josh Caddy yelled, in full rock and roll wail, "You guys excited for the Smashing Pumpkins!" They launched into their set at full speed. The wailing vocals and straight forward grandiosity of their sound is something I think is in very short supply in present day rock and roll.
The vocals and overall sound on numbers like the guitar heavy "Wildlife" and "Take Me For A Ride" sounded influenced by equal parts Buckcherry, Whitesnake and Bon Jovi. The dueling guitar of Tom Schleiter and Max Perenchio and Caddy's band intros convinced me the band has watched the Bill and Ted movies quite a few times (Wyld Stallyns!). It's not surprising Bad City is from Chicago as Billy is known to support bands from his hometown. This was their first visit to Seattle and they didn't disappoint. Bad City fills the need for an excessively awesome, eighties influenced, straight forward rock band very well.
After Bad City's set anticipation grew to almost a fever pitch while the audience waited for the Smashing Pumpkins to take to the stage. Throughout the set it became apparent that despite all his rage, Billy's still full of crap on stage. You get the feeling he wouldn't want it any other way and either would the crowd. Despite his "stage persona" it was one hell of a show.
Billy Corgan, Jeff Schroeder (guitar), Nicole Fiorentino (bass) and Mike Byrne (drums) took their places backed by sensory overload backing lights and mirror windmills, dangerous for anyone at risk of epilepsy. They launched into "Astral Planes," one of the internet-only new tracks from the Pumpkins' Teargarden by Kaleidyscope project. It started out fast and escalated into a blistering, distorted crescendo. The first glimpse of the nineties Pumpkins came when they broke into "Ava Adore." Even though the song made many long for the days of James, D'arcy and Jimmy, the current incarnation of the Pumpkins is just as tight and capable as the original lineup was.
After finishing an energetic version of "Drown" Billy thanked Sub Pop Records for putting out great music. "Drown" was released on the Sub Pop soundtrack to the movie Singles back in 1992. The new songs sound great live and "Song For A Son" was no exception. It could stand up nicely alongside many of the tracks from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.
The show really started to take off when the band played the first notes and chords of "Today." By judging audience reaction most fans came to see the classics. Another soundtrack song, "Eye," followed. "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" nearly tore the roof off the place, with many in the crowd screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs. At the end of "United States" the band rocked a distorted, guitar heavy "Star Spangled Banner." One of the most surprising moments of the night came when the band launched into a jam of Led Zeppelin's "Moby Dick." Byrne impressed on the drum solo, not quite matching Bonzo beat for beat, but who can? Then Billy spoke.
In true Corgan style he introduced the band, introducing himself as "your lord and savior Jesus Christ." He then promised to play one of his old hits at which point he broke into the first three chords of Hole's "Celebrity Skin,"written with Courtney Love. I found the rant more than humorous having personally heard Courtney rant against Billy five days earlier. Then to top off the banter he declared that "You gotta love a city with the giant cock ... the giant cock reaching up into the sky." Wow. Stay classy, Billy Corgan! He, of course, was referring to the Space Needle.
After that diversion the band tore through an exhilarating five song stretch of "Cherub Rock," "That's the Way (My Love Is)," "Tonight, Tonight," "Stand Inside My Love" and "Tarantula." "Tonight, Tonight" sent everyone into the stratosphere. I have a feeling this was the one song most people wanted to see as it inspired an audience sing-a-long at the top of their lungs.
If there was one song that challenged "Tonight, Tonight" for most anticipated song of the set it would have been "Zero," the first song of the two song encore. The vocals were delivered with full vitriol, as bitter and rage filled as they come. It left the audience, about half of which were in "Zero" t-shirts, breathless. The Pumpkins closed out the set with their new single, "Freak," the best track from Teargarden By Kaleidyscope, so far.
The Pumpkins left everyone wanting more, the mark of a great band. One thing I know for certain, after witnessing this performance, is that Billy Corgan is The Smashing Pumpkins, warts and all, and that's the way he wants to keep it.
