Smashing Pumpkins
The Metro, Chicago (November 29, 2000)
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Smashing Pumpkins
The Metro, Chicago
November 29, 2000
Setlist: Glass And The Ghost Children
Today Stand Inside Your Love Thirty-Three To Sheila Drown Glass Everlasting Gaze Bullet with Butterfly Wings Rhinoceros Thru The Eyes Of Ruby Mayonaise If There Is A God Cash Car Star Zero Rock On Heavy Metal Machine Muzzle Disarm Tonight, Tonight Siva Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans Encore 1: Cherub Rock Ava Adore Encore 2: For Martha (w/ Bill Corgan Sr.) Encore 3: Starla 1979 |
In the penultimate show of their storied 13-year career, the Smashing Pumpkins said goodbye Wednesday night at Chicago's United Center long and loud, as Billy Corgan and friends ripped through three hours of big hits, a few rarities and several acoustic numbers, fairly well blowing the roof off the place in front of a raucous hometown crowd.
Say what you will about Corgan -- his trademark unpredictable mood swings, his ego-slash-ambition and his rumored control freakishness -- Wednesday night saw the Big Rock Star commanding center stage like few other frontmen of his era. One of alt-rock's biggest voices since way back in the early 90s, Corgan thrashed at his guitar, wailed, screamed, jumped, genuflected, encouraged sing-alongs and, yes, quite frequently, flashed a big, bald-headed smile. Dressed first in white Dr. Evil robes for the opening acoustic segment, and later in Vader black for the brutally rocking second set, the stage was his all night long.
And the sellout crowd paid their last respects almost as loudly, singing every note of "Today" and nearly rioting during "Tonight, Tonight's" reference to a certain "city by the lake. "Today" arrived early in the opening six-song acoustic set that culminated with "Drown" off of 1991's Singles soundtrack, which, Corgan slyly remarked, "was written before some of you were born." Corgan strolled off stage during that song's coda, leaving guitarist James Iha, bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur, pianist Mike Garson and keyboardist Chris Holmes to turn in a jazzy little improv before leaving the stage for a blistering drum solo by Jimmy Chamberlin.
But from there, the Pumpkins rocked and never looked back. The three-pronged attack of "Glass," "The Everlasting Gaze" and "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" got the crowd moving, as Corgan's otherworldly shriek sailed throughout the arena up to the Bulls' championship banners.
"I can see you all came to see a rock n' roll show," Corgan quipped before ripping into "Rhinoceros" off of the band's debut Gish, "Thru The Eyes of Ruby," and Siamese Dream's "Mayonaise," which quickly evolved into a full-scale, lighters-waving campfire sing-along. Other set highlights included "Heavy Metal Machine," which was prefaced by a small slice of "Rock On" that found Corgan deliberately stringing out the "Where do we go from here?" refrain for ironic effect.
Compared to all that, the encores took on a somewhat surprising emotional weight. The Pumpkins blasted through "Cherub Rock" and an incendiary "Ava Adore" before bringing out Bill Corgan Sr. to duet with his son on the pretty "For Martha."
And after a very loud version of "Starla," Corgan declared that it was time for the last song of the night, thanking the crowd for "13 amazing years," and, with Iha, declaring, in full deadpan, that they'd "seen a million faces, and rocked them all."
And the (almost) last image Chicago had of the Smashing Pumpkins is Corgan the Rock Star in a Blackhawks jersey, sitting alongside his bandmates and closing things out with an acoustic "1979" -- performing a great rock song on just a few little guitars.
It was a fitting Big Rock image to end a great Big Rock show and a classic Big Rock career.
Saturday's final concert will take place at Chicago's Metro, where the band played their first-ever show. "I know we've been difficult, and we haven't always been the nicest band," Corgan said Wed. night to typical thunderous applause, "But the most important thing for us at the end of the day is that we love you, and we love ourselves, and we love you."
JEFF VRABEL | Jeff Vrabel may look like your average, strapping Midwestern-type, but lurking inside him is a passion for all things Springsteen, "Weird" Al, and regrettably, the Chicago Cubs. He's touched Britney Spears. He knows Slash's phone number. Obey him at all costs.