Smashing Pumpkins

The big problem for me with the Tuesday setlist – and the reason I'm only going tonite – is its the exact same setlist as the August tour, except with a different cover to close. And that tour was advertised as "a once in a lifetime setlist." Not so much. I didn't want to see that set for the 4th time.

I had a good time last night, I was tired so I was one of the guys who didnt stand up the whole night but that doesnt mean that I didnt appreciate it, for me it was more like a "Billy Corgan Experience" show than a Smashing Pumpkins one though…

Not claiming to be a huge Pumpkin fan, but am I the only one who thought the sound mix at Tuesday's show was aweful? The bass, and the kick drum were so freakin overdone. I felt like I was locked in the trunk of a hiphop blaster with broken woofers. Was it a consequence of where I sat, in the box section, middle arena? DAR doesn't have great acoustics, probably tricky to get it right, but what was TOBY the birthday boy mixer doing back there? Any one else think the mix was aweful?

Originally posted by jimvoeller:
The bass, and the kick drum were so freakin overdone. I felt like I was locked in the trunk of a hiphop blaster with broken woofers. Was it a consequence of where I sat, in the box section, middle arena? DAR doesn't have great acoustics, probably tricky to get it right, but what was TOBY the birthday boy mixer doing back there? Any one else think the mix was aweful?

dar may sound bad, but that complaint about not the fault of dar. SP live in 2007 sounded like nothing but a rumbling mess of drums and bass.

My only complaint about the sound was that it needed to be louder. I thought the mix was very clean and perhaps a little thin on the low-end, and i was sitting in a box about two sections back from the stage on the left.

if you saw the "Fuck Art, Let's Kill" shirt that would have been me ;) hehe

MindCage
Mindless Faith
Deep6 Productions

this show was a cringe-worthy train wreck. i was a huge fan of the pumpkins in the early/mid 90s, but my level of respect for the band and billy corgan has now dropped off completely.

strangely enough, i was never a big fan of nine inch nails (another early 90's band mentioned here) but my level of appreciation and respect for trent reznor and that band continues to grow every year. now there's a guy who puts on a real show (one of the best in the business) and seems truly gracious, appreciative and respectful of his audience and fan base.

i'm done with the pumpkins.

Originally posted by MindCage:

Originally posted by serpent boy:
There's a difference between sitting down to enjoy the music, which I find nice once in a while (Eddie Vedder show, for example), and being absolutely disinterested in the show. The people in my section complained about not knowing any of the songs and turned to me to say, "What the fuck is this one?! C'mon, Billy!"

It was more about the lack of energy and enthusiasm from the crowd than the fact that they were sitting. I see how "Set the Controls" or "Speed Kills" or the acoustic set can be offputting for a casual fan, but how do you complain about "Eye" or "United States"?

Exactly. People weren't into the show that were fans, just "I like the hits I've heard on the radio" types. If you are Pumpkins fan, then you know that the little jams they do in the middle of songs or extending out them is part of what they do. Just like other 90s bands, like Pearl Jam.

I sure out of all the people saying the show sucked they wanted their setlist to be

Today
Disarm
1979
Tarantula
Bullet With Butterfly Wings
Ava Adore
Stars
United States
Drown
Tonight, Tonight

thank you goodnight DC! woo hoo

I think Josh kinda stuck out just a bit 3 rows deep on the left side all night with people being afraid to be around him. I didn't see that guy with the goatee behind though…


MindCage
Mindless Faith
Deep6 Productions

I totally disagree with this. I'm a huge Pumpkins fan and know what they do, what endeared me to the band so much is the jams they put in their songs live in the middle and extending them out. I think that stuff is what makes them one of the better live bands around.

That stuff last night was a different animal, though, and it just really crossed a line. It wasn't about adding cool new takes on existing songs or extending things out a bit. It was utter wankery.

I've got no complaints about night 2. Great show.

did billy come out in any strange get ups like night one?

i wore my dark star shirt with a pea coat, but nobody seem to get the joke.

This might be among the first of the new tunes that gives me some faith that the new band can do some interesting things beyond rock and wanking solos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfTe2jq-qHw

and this one, albeit with worse sound:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNZUutrDgqM

Originally posted by Itouchmyself:
I've got no complaints about night 2. Great show.

I am with you on that. The set list was pretty great. I just wish that they had a different song closing the show. Aside from that, I had a great time. I really loved how they had a horn section and a violinist. Not to mention, that little latin drum breakdown they had in the show was awesome.

Originally posted by walkonby:
did billy come out in any strange get ups like night one?

i wore my dark star shirt with a pea coat, but nobody seem to get the joke.

Billy came out wearing some weird stuff. Best moment was when he threw this glitter out into the crowd. Either that or when he was dancing on stage. Julian and I were joking that Billy was an inch close to bringing sexy back.

Originally posted by saintangelsin:

Billy came out wearing some weird stuff. Best moment was when he threw this glitter out into the crowd. Either that or when he was dancing on stage. Julian and I were joking that Billy was an inch close to bringing sexy back.

I thought his dancing reminded me of a slightly more rhythmic Peter Garrett. :)

Both shows were great in their own respects. One should not compare the two since they were meant to stand alone.

The first night "rawked" way more than the second. What a -Rush- in Heavy Metal Machine!

Best 2nd night segment was the to-fer slow jams of Landslide and Disarm. I came up front to tape it and was moist for the rest of the night.

Ahhhh…

M Kelly

The first show was far superior. I liked the song choice better, although Show 2 had Soma and Bodies. The backing tracks were a little annoying, when he had a NINE piece band. I actually enjoyed set the controls as well.