But let us start at the beginning...
After months of staring excitedly, but uselessly at the pair of concert tickets sitting on my desk, the night of the Smashing Pumpkins concert was finally here. Technically, I had been waiting 10 long years for this night, for it was 10 long years ago that the Smashing Pumpkins last graced the shores of my fair country. At the time, I was 11 years old and my mother was absolutely positive that a rock concert was not an appropriate event for a young girl to attend. Thus, the Smashing Pumpkins came, saw and conquered New Zealand while I was at home watching cartoons.
So, March 22, 2008 was quite an exciting day for a die-hard Smashing Pumpkin fanatic.
My brother (a fellow Pumpkin lover) and I headed off to the show bursting with excitement (the kind of excitement that is quite possibly not very healthy emotionally, but that is entirely unimportant at this point). Upon arrival, briskly walked through security, used the toilet facilities, purchased our outrageously over-priced but essential band t-shirts and then made our way to our seats.
After about 20 minutes of nervous chatter and deep discussion about the possible set list, Queens Of The Stone Age took the stage in front of an embarrassingly empty mosh-pit. Apparently QOTSA fans did not expect them to be starting the night quite so early. So it was hilarious to see floods of crazed fans sprint into the arena and bash their way to the front when they had realised that their favourite band had started without them!
I am a fan of QOTSA, but to be honest all I could think about was the Smashing Pumpkins. However, QOTSA played a great set, including a brilliant rendition of 'Sick, Sick, Sick', which in my opinion is the worst QOTSA song ever. But performed live, that song is genius. I also loved 'Go With The Flow' and, of course, 'No One Knows'. But I was bitterly disappointed by two things: 1) their set was only just over an hour long, which was certainly not the length of a full set that was promised by promoters. And 2), within that short set, they didn't play 'The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret', which is my favourite QOTSA song and one of their biggest hits. So, when QOTSA left the stage and the lights came back on, I began a heated rant about the shortness of their set and how if I was a hardcore QOTSA fan I would be seriously pissed off. Then it dawned on me that since QOTSA had finished, the Smashing Pumpkins would soon be gracing the stage and that sharply ended my ranting.
So we sat, awaiting Billy and the boys and one girl (as a side note, I love that they always have a female bass player. Gimmick or not, as a woman, it is always great to see the token Smashing Pumpkins girl). And, suddenly, the lights went down and the crowd went nuts. The Smashing Pumpkins took the stage and euphoria set in.
They began with a monstrous version of 'Superchrist', which was mind-blowing. Plus, Billy was wearing what appeared to be a full length skirt made out of tin foil, which made him look slightly more like an alien than usual.
So the night had begun and more and more of some of the Pumpkins greatest songs were blasted into my ear drums. Highlights for included 'Mayonnaise', 'Today' (which included an audience sing-along for the entire first verse!), 'Tarantula', '1979', 'Perfect', Doomsday Clock', an outstanding and thrilling version of 'United States' (the closing song of the night) and, my personal favourite, 'Bullet With Butterfly Wings', which was brilliant.
In addition, the lighting was spectacular and really added to the overall Smashing Pumpkins experience. However, once again Auckland's Vector Arena slaughtered the sound. I have been to a few shows at the Vector and every one of those shows was severely let down by the appalling sound system. The Vector is over a year old now and they still haven't fixed its significant problems. The arena has attracted a large number of big-name bands who would not have travelled all the way to New Zealand in the past, as there is nowhere really big enough for major artists to perform. However, I fear that the terrible sound issues of the Vector Arena may not encourage bands to come back to our country!
Apart from the poor sound, other lowlights were that a) they didn't play 'Bleeding The Orchid' or 'Bodies', which are two of my favourites (but with a 2 and a half hour show packed full of Smashing Pumpkins goodness, I think they can be excused for not playing all of my favourite songs); b) the outrageously expensive band merchandise (which Billy informed us we must buy because Jimmy wants a new Ferrari); and c) the post-concert bad reviews reported by reviewers who do not even like the band. Most of the concert reviews that I have read have focused on bashing Billy Corgan for his overwhelmingly arrogant attitudes. It seems that people were surprised that he acted like a rock star! For me, part of the fun of going to concerts is actually seeing the arrogant antics of frontmen and women live and in the flesh. If any of you have seen Tool live, then you know what true, extreme arrogance looks like. Tool are one of the greatest rock bands of all time (in my book), but they don't make music for their fans and they certainly don't play live shows for their fans. And apparently, at their New Zealand show last year, the Red Hot Chili Peppers did not acknowledge the crowd once. Billy and the rest of the Smashing Pumpkins did however address the crowd and involve the crowd in their show. Of course, I don't, for a second, believe that Billy isn't arrogant, but as he himself pointed out at one point in the show, "I'm forty-fucking-one years old. I think I have earned the right to do whatever the fuck I want whenever the fuck I want". I would have been disappointed if he had been warm, friendly and not a weird bastard.
So, as a die-hard Smashing Pumpkins fan for many years, I was just thrilled that they came all the way down to the bottom of the world to play for us. It was truly a great experience and well worth the NZ$120 that I had to fork out for the privilege of being there.
Long live the Smashing Pumpkins. And Billy Corgans's ego.
Billy Corgan, of the Smashing Pumpkins, playing live at the Vector Arena, Auckland, on the 22nd of March, 2008.
