Smashing Pumpkins 20th anniversary show in Cleveland
Sunday, November 2nd, 2008..I know this is cliche but, where do I begin? Literally. So much happened this weekend that it’s still a whirlwind inside my head. Well, I’m going to attempt to put it down. Friday night was horrible, Sarah was going to meet me at my apartment at 4:30 am and I couldn’t sleep. It’s safe to say I got about 3 hours of sleep and then we were on the road towards Cleveland. I’ll skip the banter and go right to arriving in Cleveland on Saturday. The Wyndham was a beautiful hotel with exceptional staff. The lounge was top-notch and they definitely didn’t water down the drinks. lol
I had to be at the box office by 4:45 to pick up my gift bag, tickets etc. I was surprised to see that by the end of it there was only about 25-30 VIPs tops. In addition to a 20th anniversary t-shirt that said, “SP VIP” on the back we were handed a VIP card to wear around our neck. Immediately I sensed the anticipation of our group. Everyone was incredibly friendly and we were sharing our favorite SP moments when we were interrupted by our host. He informed us that we were invited to watch the band do their soundcheck. This was pretty much a completely private mini-show. We heard a couple of new songs that they had been working on (well, they were performed once at the charity event but they’re still unreleased) when I heard an old favorite… They took Suffer from Gish and put a completely new spin on it. Loved it. After the soundcheck, Billy and Jimmy came down and started BSing with our group. Everything was organized and our group was well behaved. I was expecting at least one fan to freak out…We were allowed one item to have autographed and I brought along the lyric book to MCIS. Afterwords was a quick photo shoot, sadly those were professionally done and we won’t receive the pictures for two weeks or so. I did however get a fan behind me to take a pic with my iphone. The photo shoot was orginially supposed to have been on on the stage but logistical issues forced us to take it directly in front. Ooh, what a shame *sarcasm*
We got to talk for a bit and ask some questions before we were led by our host down to a locked room in the basement. It was a “party room” with private bartenders. You really can’t go wrong with free drinks!
The show hadn’t even started yet and I’ve already experienced so much. I could have left happy at this point. After the drinks we all took our seats. I ran into Sarah and gave her her ticket (second row) while mine was literally front row center. I was directly in front of Billy.
The set list is as follows:
1. 99 Floors
2. Owata
3. Sunkissed
4. A Song For a Son
5. Mayonaise
6. Tonight, Tonight
7. Tarantula
8. G.L.O.W.
9. Siva
10. Speed Kills
11. Superchrist
12. The Sounds of Silence
13. That’s The Way (My Love Is) - acoustic
14. Disarm
15. Today
16. Bullet With Butterfly Wings
17. As Rome Burns
18. Heavy Metal Machine
19. Glass’ Theme
20. The March Hare
21. Suffer
Encore
22. We Only Come Out at Night
23. Everything is Beautiful
This was an incredible setlist.. Suffer was an unexpected treat. Being this close was a completely different experience. I could witness the unspoken communication between Billy and Jimmy… the crazy grins and laughs when Jeff missed a note in Mayonaise. Someone close to the front kept yelling 1979 over again. This led Billy to stare at the guy and say:
“Do you know what year it is? 2008.”
“I’m sorry but we will NOT be playing that song for I am the song monster. Yes, Yes. I ignore all of your requests” and then he started growling and running around the stage.
Towards the end of the set there was some awesome crowd interaction were Billy alluded to some serious issues wrapped in the illusion of humor. I think this will expand fully during the two night shows but I believe this is an attempt to show the metamorphosis of SP. How they are evolving as a band and hope their fans come with them. This was demonstrated by Jimmy doing drumbeats to Silverfuck and I am One before starting off on new songs…I can’t recall exactly what song it was so if any VIP can help me out I’d appreciate it…Could have been Superchrist? But they did the Ted Nugent beat from Window Paine. A rant during Heavy Metal Machine also suggested this. Being so close, the lyrics were hard to make out but he made a specific reference to an evolution…same during the Set the Controls cover. “We are the new SP…same as the old SP.” During The Sounds of Silence and That’s the Way he mentioned how the show has not started and went into three old huge singles without stopping… The crowd freaked out and he let us sing the first verse of Today. The funny part was, the front rows actually calmed down during this time. Retire those singles. We freaked out and jammed for the new stuffs and the old surprises like Glass Theme and Suffer.
The acoustic version of That’s the Way sent chills down my spine. It was only Lisa and Billy playing…It was so intense and full of raw emotion. You could feel the love and hurt… Speaking of hurt he did reference how we were hurting his feelings.. To paraphrase/quote Billy.
“Ohh, you’re hurting me. That’s okay though. The more I hurt the better my songs are. You’ve been feeding off my pain for the last twenty years though. It’s okay though. Because of you I live in a Big HOUSE!”
The evolution was also referenced in the humourous take of Everything is Beautiful. The entire band, including the accompanying musicians were out with kazoo for “Everyone is beautiful in your own way…”
He mentioned how he loved all of us regardless and how he “knows” that we love them. No matter what direction they go in, the new songs they perform etc. I for one, am a true fan of SP. I was more excited by their new songs than hearing Today for the millionth time. While there are those old songs I’d love to hear live, the evolution of the band have been the primary source for my enjoyment. I know their next album isn’t going to be another Zeitgeist. Just like Adore wasn’t another MCIS. It’s how a band can be gathering new fans after 20 years. I just hope enough others think this way….