Smashing Pumpkins, December 3 at Gibson Amphitheater

The day after the first of the two shows I looked up a review of the Smashing Pumpkins show in Chicago and compared the set-lists of both first nights. Exactly the same (with the exception of a song or two switched out, completely insignificant). Sometimes I'm disappointed in bands that play the same set every night, as it can come off as stale; spontaneity can be the funnest thing about a live event. Then again, the show is new to me, no matter how many times they've played it, and if it's any good at all, that might very well come from the amount of practice they put into it. I'm also one of those people who doesn't always like surprises and if it's within my power, I will ruin a surprise for myself just to know what's going on. So I looked up the set-list from the review of the second night. Again, another solid set. And I knew to get there on time. They only went on a few minutes late and the crowd that was there on time were in for a treat, as the band played some of their biggest hits early, either to get them out of the way or to confound the audience. (The hits maybe too early, as one fan held up a sign for the rest of the show begging for "1979", which the band played third in the set. Corgan noticed and essentially told them they were S.O.L. for it.) The set was somewhat frustrating, as the band started strong with the hits then went right into an acoustic set of a few new numbers. Maybe this was to burn some of those songs while the crowd filed in, but if that was the case, why open with the hits? Right after that was the blistering, one-two-three blast of "Cherub Rock", "Zero", and "Bodies", some of their heaviest, fastest numbers, then into more obscurities. Then into Fleetwood Mac's "Landside" and "Disarm", two more hits, and an orchestral version of instrumental "Mellon Chollie and the Infinite Sadness", some more obscurities, and for some reason bringing the guitarist from Dokken on stage for a piece or two then a punk-thrash cover of "The Sounds of Silence", which I wouldn't even have recognized as a Simon & Garfunkel cover if it wasn't for the set-list. Then ended with some other stuff no one new, and an encore of an acoustic version of "That's the Way (My Love Is)" which was pretty but much less spectacular than on disc, outstandingly so since it was the only thing they played that night from the new album. And ultimately ending on the most obscure tune in their catalog, the second part of "I Am One", whatever that means. I don't know if it was paced deliberately to have some crowd-pleasing hits for the audience then a few that the band wanted to play, grouping them so the crowd could tune in and drift out in clusters of songs, or if they were just trying to confound the audience, or if they just didn't give a crap, playing what they wanted and only doing the hits as charity. It really doesn't even matter what their plan was since it was actually a great show, despite featuring so many songs that no one knew. The band was so tight, even on the meandering jams (especially evident on the first night), that if you didn't know what was a hit and what was an obscurity, you would think it was all just a great, rock-out show. No one ever seems to know where Corgan is going to go next but if he follows this direction, it might be some great stuff, especially if he acheives the resurrection of this once-iconic band, which, once improbable, now seems like it could happen.

Smashing Pumpkins' set:
"Ava Adore"
"Cupid De Locke"
"1979"
"99 Floors"
"OWATA"
"Sunkissed"
"Soma"
"Cherub Rock"
"Zero"
"Bodies"
"Crestfallen"
"I of the Mourning"
"A Song for a Son"
"Landslide"
"Disarm"
"Mellon Chollie and the Infinite Sadness" (redux)
"Galapogos"
"Gossamer"
"As Rome Burns" (with George Lynch)
"The Sounds of Silence"
"The March Hare"
"Suffer"
"Age of Innocence"

"That’s the Way"
"I Am One Pt. 2"