Smashing Pumpkins, December 2 at Gibson Amphitheater

I saw the Smashing Pumpkins back in '96 and it was one of the worst concerts I've ever been to. The band wasn't at all interested in being there, the material was sub-par (the Mellon Chollie album), and, worst of all, my seats were pretty bad. I've always been a fan of the band, not a huge one but I had the albums, I like most of the hits, and I appreciated Billy Corgan's work ethic. After that show back then, I just assumed they were a crappy live band or whatever it was that was great about them in concert had been lost by the time they went big. I didn't ever care to see them again after that though I still bought (most of) the albums. Then they broke up and I gave Zwan a try for old time's sake but I got burned on it and figured anything Corgan did from there would hold nothing for me. Then they (kinda) reformed and for some reason I gave them another chance. Zietgeist was good but I still was hesitant about the live show. But I heard they were great in concert again and for this tour they were doing two nights in the major markets, with a completely different set each night, they said. I'm intrigued by shows that are off the track and I figured, if they played enough for two nights of shows, there would be more of a chance to hear some of my favorite obscure stuff, even if the current version of the band was only half of the original. They were playing a venue down the street from me so I got tickets to both nights, just in case they were going to play "Mayonnaise" on the night that I didn't pick to go. I had made up my mind to go, even though I got a crappy seat (almost the same one for each night), despite the fact that I was only looking for one ticket and that I logged-on to get tickets online about 10 seconds after they sent on sale (and it didn't sell out immediately). There wasn't an opening band listed and I had read that each show was lengthy but I still thought I had time to get there the first night, not that the show would really start at 8:15 like it said on the ticket, I thought. I got there at just before 8:30 (after a bottleneck getting into the place) and had already missed a few songs but in time for "Mayonnaise." If I had missed that song, the band would have seen me at their next tour stop. The first night leaned more toward the sludgier stuff, leaning toward the new album, and some jams that were done more to do it than to fill the space with noise. The show flowed well and the music sounded great, though some of the hits, in particular "Tonight, Tonight" and "Today" seemed rush and less involved, which actually helped, if only to differentiate the live version from the studio one. The most notable thing was that the band didn't sound like they were just pacing through the material, even the hits, which certainly made this performance more invigorating than I would have imagined, and they pulled off the epics they've always tried to make out of their songs; anthems are hard to play when your heart isn't in it. The Pumpkins' secret weapon: drummer Jimmy Chamberlain. I would expect that most nights the show hangs on his mood and if he's brought all his power or not. I have no reason to think that he doesn't feel like not being quite possibly one of the best and certainly the most underrated drummer in rock today. Turns out that Corgan is actually a pretty good guitar player too (though he'd better be, to make up for Iha pissing off). If the Pumpkins were a new band and not veterans, they would probably have the same-size crowd just as quickly and people would be pissing themselves about how good they are and not moaning about how nothing is Siamese Dream anymore. But this is what they are now and, for the first time in a long time, Corgan is making the most of it. And it's actually good.

Smashing Pumpkins' set:
"Roctopus" (Jimmy Chamberlin’s opening drum solo)
"Everybody Come Clap"
"Tarantula"
"G.L.O.W."
"Siva"
"Eye"
"Mayonaise"
"Tonight, Tonight"
"Speed Kills"
"Transformer" (may not have been included. I don't remember it, at least)
"Superchrist"
"United States"
"Once Upon a Time"
"Again, Again, Again (The Crux)"
"The Rose March"
"Today"
"Bullet with Butterfly Wings"
"The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning"
"Heavy Metal Machine"
"Glass"
"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" (Pink Floyd cover)

"We Only Come Out at Night"
"Close to You"