"Smashing Pumpkins"

**Arty50** · 09-08-2010, 02:58 AM

While nursing a splitting headache caused by the shitty music, set list with no congruency at all, and unbearably bright stage lights, it came to me...

That was like drinking a Budweiser. No, not the kind of Budweiser that goes along with a Toby Keith concert or a NASCAR race. That Bud actually has a purpose and fits its environment. Rather it's that Budweiser that you drank in college while you were just loafing on the couch watching tv where you actually stopped to realize what you were really drinking. A bland, shitty beer that tastes like chemicals, rots your tastebuds, and gives you a shitty drunk.

Fucking horrible show. If they're coming to your city, don't waste your money. If you've already bought a ticket, sell it.

But hey, the bass player is kinda hot. That's about all they got goin' for them at this point though.

**pointedem** · 09-08-2010, 11:53 AM

fuck really. How big of a venue did you see em in?

**iscariot** · 09-08-2010, 12:34 PM

Yah. If you want to see the old Smashing Pumpkins live, go see the Silversun Pickups.

**butterscotch** · 09-08-2010, 12:36 PM

that's sad to hear. they used to be one of my favorite bands, you know, back when they were good.

**Arty50** · 09-08-2010, 01:49 PM

Originally Posted by pointedem

fuck really. How big of a venue did you see em in?

They played at the Knitting Factory in Reno. It's a reasonably small joint; holds a little over a thousand.

Basically, the band is Billy Corgan with three other people. It's always awesome when your front man refers to past shows by using 'I.' The best was when he came out and performed "Disarm" solo. He merely sang it to a full music track. Ok, I don't expect you to tour with a violinist or whatever; but you could at least play the fucking acoustic guitar part live. Total weak sauce. Sadly, it was one of the best songs of the night since they couldn't mess it up with their shitty, non-cohesive instrument work.

Also, I friggen' love long feedback-laced guitar solos, but the one they closed the show out with made me want to shoot a fucking cannonball through my head. I could go on and on forever about this show, but I've wasted enough time on it already. Just awful.

I will say this though. One of my friends, who's music tastes are top notch in my book, actually liked the show. He went into it with low expectations though, and admittedly said that helped. So YMMV. For me it was one of the two worst performances I've ever seen.

**Platinum Pete** · 09-08-2010, 03:11 PM

Originally Posted by iscariot

Yah. If you want to see the old Smashing Pumpkins live, go see the Silversun Pickups.

Please elaborate on the above suggestion. This comment intrigues me as I was definitely reminded of early Pumpkins when I first heard Silversun Pickups. I haven't listened to them a lot nor seen them live.

**grapedrink** · 09-08-2010, 05:45 PM

it's been 15 years since the pumpkins played a good show, back when they were the pioneers of mainstream geek rock.

since we're blastin' to the past

they just don't make bands like they used to. there's no passion anymore, hipster indie shit is nice in your car but fuck is it ever boring live. the kids today are getting a bum deal..

**cdlv** · 09-08-2010, 05:50 PM

will agree with teh silversun pickups recommendation , they put on an awesome show.

**Jer** · 09-08-2010, 05:55 PM

I'm with Grape - Billy's been phoning it in for well over a decade. And I'm not talking about just live shows. I remember when I first heard his new single on the radio a couple years ago. I thought "Wow - some shitty band doing a bad ripoff of Smashing Pumpkins", then the DJ came on and said it was the new Smashing Pumpkins.

**skifishbum** · 09-08-2010, 05:57 PM

damn was thinking about seeing them here.
Pearl Jam pumkins and rhcp at the aragon brawlroom still ranks as one of the best shows I've ever seen but that was then this is now and they've all gone down hill fast

**huckbucket** · 09-08-2010, 06:12 PM

Saw them tour in support of Siamese Dream. The show was small and the show was sick. It all pretty much went downhill when Iha left the band. He was the talent.

**Arty50** · 09-08-2010, 06:40 PM

Originally Posted by cdlv

will agree with teh silversun pickups recommendation , they put on an awesome show.

I'd like to 3rd this motion. Especially since I like them more than the old Pumpkins anyway. Still, I can definitely see the similarities.

**grapedrink** · 09-08-2010, 06:56 PM

Originally Posted by huckbucket

Saw them tour in support of Siamese Dream. The show was small and the show was sick. It all pretty much went downhill when Iha left the band. He was the talent.

iha? you must be joking. smashing pumpkins was 98% billy and jimmy and i'll tell you when the band went downhill, when they fired jimmy in 96. that was it, the end. shit ever since. jimmys done some cool stuff though, the jimmy chamberlin complex is great, but pretty different.

even a song with billy:

**iscariot** · 09-08-2010, 07:22 PM

Originally Posted by Platinum Pete

Please elaborate on the above suggestion. This comment intrigues me as I was definitely reminded of early Pumpkins when I first heard Silversun Pickups. I haven't listened to them a lot nor seen them live.

I've seen the Pumpkins live 3 times. Raw music energy. Soaring, soothing, operatic, intimate, dynamic...to borrow from the movie "Killing Zoe" when they referred to chasing the dragon: "You will feel like the world is a bubble of glass... ...and you are rubbing up against it like a bad windshield wiper."

Listen to the song "Waste It On" by the Pickups and you will hear the echoes of the early Pumpkins and understand about the quote I used. That, and every base line that the Pickups use could be from an early Pumpkins song...Such a good bassist in the Pickups...They also share a jazzy floating-snare type of drums that will take you from one band to the other...Combine that with the scream/loud-whisper/quite dynamic of their lead vocals in addition to the slightly childlike tone of both the vocalists, and the bands meld further...

For clarity, the Pickups primarily invoke the early Pumpkins: demos from pre-Gish era (The Pumpkins song "She" could be a Silversun Pickups song and you'd never know it), Gish era, certainly the Gish outtakes ie. the Pisces Iscariot era, and all with a hint of Siamese Dream era thrown in for good measure... The similarities become tenuous as you move past the Mellon Collie era...

I've seen the Pickups and they definitely channeled parts of the Pumpkin's energy. I have a feeling when they get a true stadium headlining tour, they will basically fill the hole left by the Pumpkins...although with an expectedly more modern sound. Basically where the Pumpkins (B.C.) should have gone with their music...

Also, you may hate them but they put on a good spectacle, My Chemical Romance certainly invoked the pop side of the Pumpkins on their Black Parade tour.

**The Reverend Floater** · 09-08-2010, 08:15 PM

I love Budweiser.

**pappag** · 09-08-2010, 08:32 PM

I thought we were already supposed to hate this band when they marketed a different album to be sold exclusively at 4 different outlets (each with one unique bonus track not available on the other 3) just last year.

**Tap** · 09-08-2010, 10:23 PM

i have a poster from the Smashing Pumpkins "Gish" record release party at the Cabaret Metro in Chicago...round 'bout 1991....i peeled it off the door and put it in my pocket.

it's still in great shape. guess it's worth less now. it's all hippied out, before he shaved his head and started appearing on the Today show.

**Arty50** · 09-09-2010, 12:25 AM

Originally Posted by The Reverend Floater

I love Budweiser.

You filthy whore. But that's why I love you.

Originally Posted by iscariot

...Such a good bassist in the Pickups...

After seeing them live recently, I have a massive crush on Nikki Monninger. The lady plays a mean bass.

I also love the fact that Brian Aubert doesn't take himself seriously and how he subtly pokes fun at the whole lead man rockstar thing.

Beyond the fact that they're a great group of musicians, they also put on an awesome show.

**Ripzalot** · 09-09-2010, 12:47 AM

i saw the gish tour. it was awesome. who wants to touch me?

Originally Posted by grapedrink

iha? you must be joking. smashing pumpkins was 98% billy and jimmy...

i'll bet they had more than 2% help.

Originally Posted by Jer

I'm with Grape - Billy's been phoning it in for well over a decade. And I'm not talking about just live shows.

the reason is [ame="http://www.tetongravity.com/FORUMS/showpost.php?p=2924923&postcount=157"]here[/ame].

**grapedrink** · 09-09-2010, 05:06 AM

Originally Posted by Ripzalot

i saw the gish tour. it was awesome. who wants to touch me?

i'll bet they had more than 2% help.

not really, billy wrote virtually everything during the glory days, including the bass lines. for siamese dream he also recorded most of their parts. the main reason they were in the band is because billy couldn't play two guitars and bass at the same time on stage.

**Ripzalot** · 09-09-2010, 05:21 AM

billy also had a crippling case of writer's block when he got picked up by virgin, couldn't handle the pressure. if you think these guys write in a vacuum, you don't know the music industry.

**grapedrink** · 09-09-2010, 05:58 AM

Originally Posted by Ripzalot

billy also had a crippling case of writer's block when he got picked up by virgin, couldn't handle the pressure. if you think these guys write in a vacuum, you don't know the music industry.

heh thats quite the statement, there are plenty of people who write songs all alone on their piano or acoustic guitar and just polish the arrangements with their band, or in the studio. billy corgan is pretty much the poster child for those kinds of songwriters. not every band gets together and jams out their songs and ideas. if billy wrote with anyone it was primarily jimmy. between gish, sd, pi, and mcis there are probably 70 songs, all written entirely by billy except for maybe 4 or 5 co-writing credits for james, and two full credits. two of the worst pumpkins songs. ok so it was 90% not 98%.

**Ripzalot** · 09-10-2010, 01:18 AM

Originally Posted by grapedrink

ok so it was 90% not 98%.

heh, that's better. i had a lengthy discussion with this guy and stroked his ego on the pumpkins work. i never let on how much i hated everything after gish (haha). i didn't ask him directly about the pumpkins but he did tell me that brittney and j-lo were nearly 100% pure manufactured music by the record label (him plus the other producers). they write and hand over the credit to the performers. you can't deny, there was a huge difference in the songwriting style between gish and siamese dream. it went from raw power to wanky emo. seems like too much change given the circumstances.

**Art Shirk** · 09-10-2010, 02:20 AM

Originally Posted by grapedrink

heh thats quite the statement, there are plenty of people who write songs all alone on their piano or acoustic guitar and just polish the arrangements with their band, or in the studio. billy corgan is pretty much the poster child for those kinds of songwriters. not every band gets together and jams out their songs and ideas. if billy wrote with anyone it was primarily jimmy. between gish, sd, pi, and mcis there are probably 70 songs, all written entirely by billy except for maybe 4 or 5 co-writing credits for james, and two full credits. two of the worst pumpkins songs. ok so it was 90% not 98%.

Yep, Badly Drawn Boy.

Bummer about SP. I saw them in 94. I still gish it out once in awhile.

**grapedrink** · 09-10-2010, 05:34 AM

Originally Posted by Ripzalot

heh, that's better. i had a lengthy discussion with this guy and stroked his ego on the pumpkins work. i never let on how much i hated everything after gish (haha). i didn't ask him directly about the pumpkins but he did tell me that brittney and j-lo were nearly 100% pure manufactured music by the record label (him plus the other producers). they write and hand over the credit to the performers. you can't deny, there was a huge difference in the songwriting style between gish and siamese dream. it went from raw power to wanky emo. seems like too much change given the circumstances.

what you call wanky emo i call absolute perfection. they shoulda put drown on it