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Live: An acoustic trick that was hardly a treat
By John Petric
What a weird time we all had at the Smashing Pumpkins’ Halloween show at the Newport.
The opening act was a lifeless, mirthless cover band led by a tall weirdo in a kimono, sampan hat and brunette wig—none other than Billy Corgan himself, who played an off-sounding acoustic 12-string.
As the rest of the band played at half-volume, le enfant terrible Billy the Billy Goat led his unsmashing Pumpkins through “Louie Louie,” “Hang on Sloopy” (ugh!), Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” (terrible), Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler” (zzzz) and a few other hard-to-swallow pop “chestnuts,” as William the Conqueroo chastised someone in the audience for asking “where is the Smashing Pumpkins” versus “where are”.
Who gives a flying fig, is what I thought. At least when idiot bands like Phish pull a Halloween stunt, it’s surrounded by a sense of fun—patchouli-drenched stink-bomb fun, but fun nevertheless. Bill the Butcher’s “acoustic” set was about as much fun as Ryan Adams looking in the mirror.
But when the electric Pumpkins finally came on, sans Halloween costumes, they did prove—once again—that they are one of the great rock bands. Especially with the drums manned by the powerful Jimmy Chambers, whose precision timing and ability to make his skins speak in tandem with Corgan’s seriously dynamic guitar playing make the pair perhaps the most underrated team in music.
Mister Billy and his guitarist went on six-string extravaganza after extravaganza, somewhat faithfully reworking Pumpkins classics (not many of them, that’s for sure) along with the lesser-known (most of the set, much to the chagrin of more than a few fans), including: “Tarantula,” “G.L.O.W.,” “Siva,” “Speed Kills,” “Superchrist,” “As Rome Burns,” “Sounds of Silence,” “A Song for a Son,” “Today,” “Bullet With Butterfly Wings,” “Heavy Metal Machine” and an excruciatingly slow cover of Pink Floyd’s “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” as an encore.
Hearing the incorrigible Corgan whine through his nasals, “set the controls for the heart of the s-u-u-u-u-u-n,” I knew it was a sonic phrase that would reappear in my head un-asked-for at the weirdest times. Thank you, Billy the Kid Who Doesn’t Like to Be Kidded.
Visually, he was a blight. Baldheaded and hunched over, Corgan resembled a cross between Ichabod Crane and Clinton Democratic strategist James Carville. Sexy, sexy, bo-bexy, huh?
But add tons of bone-splintering, wicked guitar riffing, a crack band, a sold-out house, Halloween and Billy’s megalomaniacal personality, and it was a strangely memorable night. In the end, I admired him for being such a gigantic and talented asshole.
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| Trifecta: three shows with buzz | Live: A singer with a good (but under-used) voice |
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Andrew Bove wrote on Nov 6, 2008 11:34 AM:
I think this website sucks big time. The other paper is a horrible source and did i mention sucks a big one. "Children are old enough to read Icculus!" "