- So Wednesday night I had the chance to see SMASHING PUMPKINS in concert. It's a concert that only a few years ago, I thought I might never see, given that the band had broken up and seemingly become one of the long list of great 90's bands that didn't quite make it intact into the new millenium. But as fate would have it, SP reunited a little while back, albeit with only half their original lineup, released a new album that was surprisingly really good, and is currently on an ambitious 20th anniversery tour.
But man, to me the Pumpkins were such a huge part of my childhood MTV-induced education in the ways of rock n' roll. In an age marked by classic music videos, SP had some of the era's best - from Zero to 1979 to Tonight, Tonight. If you turned on MTV anytime in the mid 90's, you were guaranteed it wouldn't be long before the latest avant-garde Pumpkins video went into rotation. The band's success probably reached its peak with their epic double album, Melancholly and the Infinite Sadness. It was one of the defining albums of the era, and an instant classic - making the Pumpkins unique brand of grunge-meets-goth one of the defining sounds for people growing up during that time.
So yeah, I was psyched to see the Pumpkins play last night, but also slightly weary of the fact that each stop of their latest tour consisted of two back-to-back shows, with no songs repeated between the two. I don't know ... in these tough economic times you have to admit it seems slightly pretentious to expect fans to go to two shows to get the full experience, and to not necessarilly give people the biggest bang for their buck. Suffice it to say, when I saw the setlist from Tuesday's show, and realized that key songs like Today, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, and Tarantula were now off-limits for our show, it was a bit annoying. Finally getting to see the Pumpkins after so many years, and NOT getting to hear Billy Corgan wail "despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage?" I couldn't help but feel a bit letdown.
But hey, after meeting up with the crew and taking our prime-time seats only several rows away from the stage, I had mostly left my trepidation behind - I was ready to get rocked.
And I will say, the Pumpkins' entrance was pretty darn spectacular. Corgan came out wearing one of his trademark weirdo goth leather manskirt-suit things, brandishing a plastic jack-o-lantern and looking like a real-life Jack Skellington. Some kids in Halloween costumes followed him and they acted out a trick or treat ritual, before Corgan and his band broke into a kickass rendition of a classic Pumpkins tune - Ava Adore - that had the crowd going off and singing along.
The momentum continued with hits like 1979 - perhaps the quintissential Pumpkins tune and certainly one of the iconic music videos of MTV in the 90's. But then, things really slowed down as Corgan broke out the accoustic guitar for several "slow jams," as he put it. A lot of the energy was drained from the crowd, and while the hardcore fans may have enjoyed the change in pace, things definitely began to drag a bit ...
... that is, until the Pumpkins let loose with an insanely rocking trifecta of some of their most hard-rocking hits. To me, this trio of head-bangers was the highlight of the show by far, with Cherub Rock building perfectly into the awesomeness that is ZERO. To me the highlight of the night, the classic SP anthem had us pumping our fists and jumping up and down and convinced that, yes, the Pumpkins still rocked and rocked hard. The sequence ended with Bodies, and at that point things took a turn for the weird ...
At this point, Corgan seemed intent on proving to us that Smashing Pumpkins was more than just a 90's-era rock band. He began breaking out all kinds of more experimental tunes from a number of different SP albums, many of which really lost me - especially when Corgan donned a top-hat and began dancing around the stage to some very un-Pumpkins-like dance beats. Scattered amongst this looong stretch of randomoddity were a couple of winners, like Corgan's cover of Fleetwood Mac's Landslide, the hokey but endearing Song For a Son, as well as one more genuine SP classic in Disarm ("the killer in me is the killer in you!") - but mostly, this was the section that made you really lament the fact that a lot of the hits were conspicuous by their absence.
Still, the Pumpkins eventually won me back over with the throbbing, hard-rockin' chords of As Rome Burns, which kept building to false finish after false finish until you couldn't help but be caught up in the sheer epic nature of the song. But that was probably the last real highlight of the show ... after closing out without much of a bang, Corgan and co. returned for a two-song encore that failed to make much of an impression. I think we were all hoping for something special to end the night (part of me was really wishing Corgan would somehow work in a tune or two from ZWAN, like Honestly ...), but unfortunately, things went out on kind of a whimper.
That being said, overall it was a fun show and it was great to see The Pumpkins in concert. Corgan was in fine form, his voice sounded on, and he was positively shredding on guitar when called upon. I don't quite get why, as a band, the Pumpkins seem so intent on having so many offbeat / experimental songs in their setlists. When the band focuses on its bread and butter - shredding rock music mixed with grungy-gothic melodies - there are few groups that are better. But yeah, seeing them play was definitely a ride worth taking.
TV STUFF:
- Just wanted to quickly touch on last night's episodes of THE OFFICE and 30 ROCK. Both were pretty hilarious, making for a great night of comedy. The Office had a potentially divisive episode, in that I know some people get annoyed when the show includes really broad comedy like it had last night. But personally, I thought last night's ep was one of the flat-out funniest Office's in a while. The stuff with Andy and Angela on Dwight's farm was just insane - the priest who only spoke German, the random manure in Dwight's house, the cameo from cousin Mose - so funny. Meanwhile, the in-office stuff was equally entertaining, with a great story about an office surplus and the battle over how it should be spent - on new chairs or on a new copier. I loved the weird, bizarro-world version of the office where everyone kissed up to Michael to lobby him for their surplus choice, with Michael content to be blissfully ignorant and just enjoy the fact that people were acting towards him exactly as he'd always dreamed they might. When an indecisive security guard was called in to weigh in with his nonpartisan verdict, it was a moment of absurd hilarity.
On 30 ROCK, we got another excellent episode that had a fun Liz Lemon / Jack plot as well as an absurdly comedic Tracy/Jenna/Kenneth subplot. On most shows, a high school reunion story would be cause for much groaning, but here, 30 Rock brilliantly played with the idea that while Liz thought of herself as a tormented high school geek, everyone else saw her as a mean-spirited antagonist who scarred many a teenaged soul for life. This, combined with Alec Baldwin as Jack's decision to pose as high school hero Larry Braverman made the whole high school reunion angle funny and memorable. As usual, there were a ton of classic, quotable lines in the episode - just further proof that 30 Rock is TV's best and funniest comedy.
My Grade - The Office: A- / 30 Rock: A-
- Alright - I am about done here. Time to enjoy the weekend, baby. Rock on.
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