Live: The Smashing Pumpkins @ The Fillmore 7/25

“We thank you for spending the evening with us given all the other entertainment possibilities.” slyly remarks Billy Corgan after his band’s triumphant set at San Francisco’s Fillmore Theater on July 25^th. One of the many shows in their current residency there, The Smashing Pumpkins put together a great performance full of old material, songs off their new album and even songs written the day of the concert. Through all of it, patrons at The Fillmore seemed all at once captivated and grateful for the legendary band’s performance.

The set started with Moving Units, an entirely forgettable band that tried too hard to sound like The Strokes, and who’s plastered lead singer fell off the stage within two minutes of their set beginning. That being said, the rest of their set was plagued with mismatched soundboard levels and an inability to carry themselves on stage. Better luck next time guys.

The mood shifted significantly when the Pumpkins took the stage. From out of the shadows emerged the gargantuan Billy Corgan, acoustic guitar in hand and harmonica wrapped around his neck. The applause roared and rather than launching into a crazy tirade, the rock legend sat down and treated the audience to 3 acoustic numbers, “Peace+Love+,” “99 Floors,” and “With Every Light.” The songs themselves were folk influenced numbers that featured Corgan’s gentle croon, not too far removed from his short lived Zwan project. Like most of the new material that showed up during the night, the songs seemed reflective rather than pretentious. Little by little, Jimmy Chamberlin, Ginger Reyes, and Jeff Schroder joined him on stage and whatever quiet mood that was created was instantly smashed by the wall of sound put forth during “Tonight, Tonight.”

From there, the show really took off. They rifled through classics such as “Cherub Rock” and “Hummer” as well Zeitgiest material such as “Starz” and “Tarantula.” Throughout the entire show, the band never once spoke to the crowd. Every so often, Corgan would gesture with his ghost-like arm, but only for theatricality. It fit the mood perfectly as the night was not about egos and hero worship; rather, it was all about the music which was in top form. The Pieces Iscariot cut “Starla” built from quiet, gentle strummings, to an epic Corgan guitar solo. It seemed to evoke other great rock epics such as “Stairway To Heaven” or “Hotel California.” Another fascinating thing about the set was the fact that they snuck in some interesting songs. “To Shelia” and “Shame” off Adore had been transformed into gorgeous rock ballads rather than their snyth heavy album counterparts.

It seemed that Corgan and his Pumpkins enjoyed tinkering with arrangements ever so slightly to fit their whims. In the middle of the epic “United States” Corgan spontaneously broke out into “The Star Spangled Banner.” Elsewhere, the band completely transformed the slow and grinding “Heavy Metal Machine” into a much heavier, thrash number that seemed to simply pummel the eardrums. If anyone had doubts about Chamberlin's drumming, this number perfectly showcases his technical ability. The man is simply a spider behind the kit. And as if that wasn’t enough, Corgan appeared by himself for the encore singing “Death From Above” merely accompanied by his touring keyboardist.

Perhaps the highlight of the entire performance was when the band played “Today” off Siamese Dream. Corgan’s tortured whine over the delicious wall of distortion sounded just as mystifying as it did with the band’s original line-up, but augmented with a brilliant solo at the end. Rather than feeling nostalgic, it seemed timeless. The Smashing Pumpkins proved lots of things to me with this concert, the most important being that they (and Corgan in particular) were not reaching for faded glory. It seemed like they were securing their own legacy, pushing their sound further, taking risks, and above all playing their hearts out. It’s impressive to consider that this new band and their new material stands up to classics like “Today.”

“We thank you for spending the evening with us given all the other entertainment possibilities.”

No Billy, thank you.

(*****)

Setlist: