Having never seen the Pumpkins before, I didn't really know what to expect. I've been a casual fan since Melancholy, and a very big fan for about three years, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to learn that they were getting back together, and the boat I missed in the 90's was coming back to shore.

I actually missed the first 10 to 15 minutes of the show. Having been to bajillions of concerts in my lifetime, I decided to show up 45 minutes late, so I would be spared the inevitably shitty opening act. Upon arriving I quickly realized that there was no opening act. Dammit. First time for everything.

I made my way to my seat some ten yards away from the band, as they were in the middle of a song I didn't recognize. It was slow but powerful and the sound quality was superb. I could immediately tell that the Pumpkins aren't a band that depend on studio production to sound great.

The next song was Mayonnaise, and it sounded absolutely perfect. Mr. Corgan's unique vocals are the real deal, and sound great without the help of effects and filters. Jimmy Chamberlin's drumming is second to none, and the new recruits hold their own just fine. "Today" sounded incredible, and hearing a live, guitar-driven version of "Tonight, Tonight" was an absolute joy.

The set continued sounding great until they got to "Bullet with Butterfly Wings", which was played too fast, at almost 1.5x speed compared to the album version. It would seem that the band has played this song so many thousands of times they have become bored with it, and though they still pretty much have to play it, they would rather speed through and get it over with. Bad idea. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right.

They then proceeded to play a completely bastardized, almost unrecognizable version of "Heavy Metal Machine". When I say unrecognizable, I mean as music, not just that song.

This brings me to my biggest complaint about the show. Although they played for a lengthy two hours and twenty minutes, roughly 45 minutes of it was filler. When I say filler I'm referring to the band just screwing around on their instruments, playing this incredibly pointless, meandering, loud, and boring excuse for music. I've seen bands do this for a few minutes here and there just to set the mood for a song, but the Pumpkins seriously did this for 30 minutes strait at one point. Toward the end of it a few people finally started shouting things like "PLAY SOME [bad word removed]ING MUSIC!" and "BOOOOOOOO!". It seemed like Billy was more interested in entertaining himself than pleasing his fans.

Then after making the audience wait through a half-hour of bullshit, and that is truly the best word for it, they had the nerve to not play anymore of the beloved, hard-rocking tunes the fans know and love. It's like I was waiting for the payoff, and it never came. Instead, the Pumkins decided to play "We Only Come Out at Night", a fun little tune to be sure, but not worth the 30 minute wait full of random noise.

Then after that, they broke out the kazoos, yes kazoos, and played a cover of "In the Summer Time" (you've got women you've got women on your mind). Yeah. That song that's like 50 years old. That's the one. While this silly little kazoo cover would have not been entirely unwelcome somewhere else in the set, as a closer it fails miserably. An important part of showmanship, and in fact any type of performance, is finishing strong. Wowing the audience and leaving a good taste in everyones' mouth. The crowd was waiting for something powerful like "Zero" or "Starz". Instead they got a bad Mungo Jerry tune. Rock shows are supposed to go out with a bang, not a circle jerk.

But even with all of my complaints, the fact is that when the Smashing Pumpkins are playing their songs and not just screwing around, they generally excel. It's a shame to waste such great potential by not putting on the absolute best show you can. All in all I give the show a C+.

Marsh

i drove 5 1/2 hours from minneapolis by myself just to see these guys and they were amazing...the setlist was spectacular and full of surprises; i totally didnt expect to hear the batman song. superchrist absolutely floored me. they sounded better that night than anyother time ive seen them. (and Ginger and Lisa are soooo pretty)

I've been an SP fan for decades (yes...that's sick, and I feel old), but let me tell you, I have never had a kazoo medley rock my a$$ off like this one. And I have kids, who watch Blue's Clues on a regular basis!

Kazoos aside, the venue was amazing (first time there), the light show was phenomenal, and Mayonaise made me cry. In a good way!

I'm waiting with bated breath for the 20th anniversary shows!

Unbelievable show!
Had the most amazing color & light show to a perfect set list.
Smashing Pumpkins coming out strong!!
Great Job guys!

Loved the whole show! Billy knows how to rock out and playing Pink Floys's Set the Controls For The Heart of the Sun was areal trip. Can wait to see them again!!!

...but I saw the setlist which was pretty interesting, and the venue looked sweet in photos.

Have you seen the Smashing Pumpkins lately?
F*ck, I haven't seen a show that smooth in a long long long time.
I saw them this past Friday, and it was so much different than the past SP shows I've seen.

What was so great about it?

- Well, they didn't have an opening act and they played for over 2 hours.

- Billy wore a silver skirt - all shiny and shit.

- They played songs that aren't even out yet.

- Their light show raised the bar on the medium.

- During the acoustic set there was a mini drum set, mini keyboard. Basically: all things small.

- The finale was a sing-along filled with kazoo solos. It seems odd, but they pulled it off.

Go see them!