Smashing Pumpkins - O2 Brixton Academy, London - 16th November 2011 (Live Review)
Thursday, 24 November 2011
Written by Alex Mead
A man has a tactical chunder. Armed with an empty pint glass, he finds a quiet corner, empties his stomach into said receptacle, not spilling a drop. It’s all very neat and in a way, civilised. At least in as much as anyone who drinks so much they can’t get to bathroom in time to vomit can be civilised. But, he’s not used to it anymore. Once he was ‘alternative’. Not for him the British staid music scene with all the nonsense that came with the pre-Britpop years (at least Britpop brought fun, musical, guitar-based nonsense). He was looking across the pond to bands that meant something, that spoke to him and his angsty, black-clothing-clad, teenage years: like Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins. Which is why he’s here, in Brixton, watching the band of his youth and reliving his (and indeed our) youth. Unfortunately, as with beer, it’s never quite as good second time around.
The fault lies in the set. A few weeks ago in New York, Noel Gallagher was trying to woo a crowd into loving his new material. He did so by giving them first what they wanted – classic Oasis. He began with Oasis, finished with Oasis and had a bit more Oasis in the middle and worked his own new stuff in between – making it all the more palatable and no doubt selling a few more solo albums as a result. And then we have Billy Corgan and his band (he’s the only original member since Jimmy Chamberlin left in 2009). He begins with two tracks from Oceania his forthcoming concept album – Quasar and Panoptican. Which are fine. Corgan’s voice is as it always was – like a mournful, melodic Transylvanian count whose lost his love when he’s taking it down low, then like a creaking, shrieking, edgy, gnarled, goth goblin when it goes up. He’s both beautiful and pained in equal measures and that’s what made so many of us love the Pumpkins.
The songs could tear a hole in you in two ways - by either oh-so-gently pulling you apart or aggressively ripping their way through: such are the extremes of Corgan’s unique voice (nobody has ever said ‘good’ voice, just ‘unique’). 'Gish', 'Siamese Dream', the epic 'Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness' and 'Adore' – that’s what we wanted to hear. Yes, by all means throw in a few of your new ones and, because Corgan’s like our very own musical Uncle Fester and we love him, we’ll listen politely, maybe even tap a foot but at least look like we’re having fun.
This is, after all, a tour that coincides with the reissue of 'Gish' and 'Siamese Dream', so give us a reminder Billy, take us back to the old days. And he does, on occasion, but it’s too few and not what this audience (aforementioned pukester included) wants to hear.
Wearing the kind of long-sleeved, graphic print t-shirt that we all wore circa 1991-93, Corgan fails to connect with the crowd, at least the majority. At times you can feel boredom sweep through the audience as they wait for him to play 'Today' or '1979'… and it doesn’t happen. We get the odd gesture to albums past in 'Geek USA', 'Muzzle', 'Soma', 'Siva', 'Cherub Rock', but quite frankly there are far too many from the new album and that online thing he did – which most of us just didn’t care about.
From a stage that could’ve come from a Bolton cabaret hall with windmills et al, Corgan at least has the decency to finish with 'Zero' and 'Bullet with Butterfly Wings'. It almost makes up for it. If 'Oceana' fails to sell, apparently Corgan will break up the band. Luckily for us, we’ll always have memories and, more importantly, reissues.
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