Concert Review: The Smashing Pumpkins at Frank Erwin Center-90’s alt-rock titans rock the Texas capital on their Shiny and Oh So Bright Tour (featured image by Olivia Bee)
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The Smashing Pumpkins made Austin their first Texas stop on their Shiny and Oh So Bright tour.
And for fans who’ve been clamoring to see a reunion of the original lineup (including guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamberlain, but sans bassist D’arcy Wretsky), the group were ready to soothe nerves and meet expectations.
The fact of the matter is, that even seeing a 3/4 reunion of this band seemed impossible until recently, so the fact that it’s happening at all, if slightly incomplete, is something of a miracle.
The group acknowledged the nostalgic nature of the event with an opening video montage featuring imagery from their 90s album art and music videos. Afterwards, the screen parted and Corgan emerged by his lonesome to play a stirring rendition of Disarm, as projections of childhood photos drove home the emotional lyrics borne from a broken home.
From there, the group (rounded out by bassist Jack Bates, guitarist Jeff Schroeder and keyboardist Katie Cole) went on a epic and lengthy ride through memory lane that covered all their pre-original breakup material from 1991 debut album Gish to 2000’s Machina: The Hands of Good.
It was a blast hearing Corgan and Iha rip into early-era rockers like Siva and Drown, dialing up layers of feedback and wailing leads, while Chamberlin proved he’s still one of the most dynamic and accomplished rock drummers, adding infinite layers of percussive intrigue.
Over a sprawling three hour set, the group perfectly walked the tightrope between radio hits to deep cuts and B-sides, the latter of which included a breezy and tuneful Blew Away, with Iha on vocals (which he performed after a truly bizarre pre-taped intro from Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath).
Iha also lent his vocal talents to dual vocal harmonies with Corgan, expertly displayed on a touching rendition of Thirty-three, off the band’s best selling double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.
Unsurprisingly that album figured heavy into the set, from expected entries like Zero, Tonight, Tonight, 1979 and Bullet With Butterfly Wings to an immersive and full bodied rendition of their sprawling epic Porcelina of the Oceans Blue.
Their sophomore smash Siamese Dream also got it’s due, from anthems like Cherub Rock, Today and Mayonaise to a meditative and gorgeous take on Soma, full of ethereal E-bow splendor.
One thing that felt odd was the excision of any video clips of Wretsky, which felt even stranger given the footage of a mascara smeared, drowsy blonde model who appeared in many of the pre-filmed segments, including an unexpected take on Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven (which marked the second cover of the night, the first being an shoegazey take on Bowie’s Space Oddity):
One could read many things into the imagery of a woman who looks very much like the missing bassist (and the gorgeous light displays throughout), but that’s probably just what Corgan has in mind.
The band kept chitchat to a minimum, save for Iha’s playful quip that they’d be playing 5 hours, and an unexpectedly heartfelt note of thanks from Corgan.
The band closed out the night with their brisk new single Solara, and an unexpected cover of the Dumbo theme Baby Mine, which is a perfect distillation of the group’s storybook aesthetic.
Pumpkins fans haven’t always had it easy–Corgan has been a mercurial figure, his persona often hurting his brand, but there was a sincere, plaintive note to this performance.
The band were clearly trying to get back into their fans good graces, and only the most dismissive could deny the musical gift the Pumpkins delivered in spades.
Setlist:
“Disarm”
“Rocket”
“Siva”
“Rhinoceros”
“Space Oddity”
“Drown”
“Zero”
“The Everlasting Gaze”
“Stand Inside Your Love”
“Thirty-Three”
“Eye”
“Soma”
“Blew Away”
“For Martha”
“To Sheila”
“Mayonnaise”
“Porcelina of the Vast Oceans”
“Landslide”
“Tonight Tonight”
“Stairway to Heaven”
“Cherub Rock”
“1979”
“Ava Adore”
“Try, Try, Try”
“The Beginning is the End is the Beginning”
“Hummer”
“Today”
“Bullet With Butterfly Wings”
“Muzzle”
“Solara”
“Dumbo Song (Baby Mine)”