Billy Corgan recently said, “If you identify with something, that’s all that matters. I don’t think young people have any responsibility to give a shit about what’s come before.” Turns out, this in-demand concert was not only about young (and old) experiencing a flash from the past, with the struggle of Generation X coming of age though song, but this was also about the future of ‘90s rock now turned iconic for multiple generations, with new tracks from The Pumpkins for us to interpret on current terms. Per that blending of past and present, was the show’s openers Stone Temple Pilots and Rival Sons.
If a band can successfully pull off sounding like the rawness of ‘90s rock meets hints of Zeppelin, peppered by a touch of Americana, crafted into one’s unique sound of bottom-of-the-barrel blues, sweetened by lyrics to pull oneself up, then, sure, do it all. Rival Sons did do it all – very well.
On a big stage with a mega PA, Rival Sons killed it. Every number was energetic. Each song seriously spun. They were a perfect opener for new ears to remember, with plenty of tracks and album collections on Spotify for listeners to now go follow.
Prior to the band’s final song, “Where Have I Been,” Rival Sons’ lead singer, Jay Buchanan, knew what he was talking about when he asked, “What do you do when you have to forgive yourself? You don’t. You kick the shit out of yourself. But, you have to let it go. This song is about that.” That was a meaningful send-off song.
As Buchanan exited, he then shouted, “Deep thanks to Smashing Pumpkins, for this has been one wild, awesome ride, and STP we love you.”
Per this three-band bill, being loved and picking oneself up was the shared theme. Absolutely, for Stone Temple Pilots – with the tragic 2015 death of former front-man Scott Weiland fresh in mind – this required profound focus for each of their non-stop hits to turn anew performed live. To make that work, the band could only embrace what was necessary, that is, by dropping in the show-stopper (both literally and figuratively), thanks to new front-man, Jeff Gutt.
What a trip. Part energetic vitamin-B, part sex symbol, Gutt rocked the show. The STP set was nothing but radio recognizable, feel good about everything (as in the good and bad of life) smash hits.
STP reached the young and sexy, the dated and faded souls in a packed house absolutely there for them. For the band, it was great to back in Southern California, with a nod to the preferred SoCal weather versus the insanity of storms and heat while traveling the nation. At last, the band could stretch out in comfort.
“Wicked Garden” was the perfect opening song for STP. The guitar distortion and the volume was up, with the melodic crunch of ‘90s rock lifting everybody (security guards included), for this was a sound that carried a generation.
The hit “Vasoline” followed, but on this evening, the band was not “stuck in the same situation, over and over again” (as songwriter Weiland previously described the meaning of the song).
Instead, everything was a healthy delivery of the best STP ever. Additional favorites included “Big Bang Baby,” “Down” (the shaking rock number that you can only turn up), and “Meadow.”
The hits kept coming with “Interstate Love Song” (which was dedicated to Weiland with a devoted shout out by Guff), “Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart,” and “Sex Type Thing” closed out the set.
Keep in mind, one long roller coaster ride later, this was a band originally from San Diego, returning to San Diego (Chula Vista to be exact).
Post that terrific set, intermission was not simply an opportunity to feel happy go lucky. After all, this night was not for carving pumpkins, but Smashing Pumpkins – our awaited headliner. Adorning a black gothic robe with something resembling an upside-down anarchy symbol sketched in face paint to his forehead, along with dark makeup under the eyes, Billy Corgan was ready to lead a cathartic bitch session for fans of the shadow archetype ready to re-embrace the misfortunate shock of being alive. It was Corgan, himself, who said, “I feel bitter.” Then, in response to a fan claiming, “That’s bullshit,” Corgan humorously replied, “We always love when our convict fans are at the show.”
For the Pumpkin’s song opener, “The Everlasting Gaze,” the goal was to turn up the distortion, the rumble of bass and amphitheater sound to 10. The opening number would be our initiation; a sound bath.
The Pumpkins’ immediate “spook” in appearance and volume was enough to send the adult-child in everyone running scared, or… it was a calling to set oneself free. For the entirety of their set, the art of Smashing Pumpkins, with this dark melancholia emphasized, would prevail.
This was the stage act for “The World is a Vampire Tour,” so, fittingly, a “Doomsday Clock” number chimed and then chilled the audience next. Yet, to everyone’s surprise, the famous, psycho-drama Talking Heads cover, “Once in a Lifetime,” then followed. Experiencing Corgan sing this number appeared to represent something personal; an inescapable reality, a shared disillusionment, despite even his own fame and fortune. Naturally, this was another moment when we could all relate.
Stage and crowd vampire vibes were to shift some, however. The performance of “Disarm” remained emblematic of being clever and standing up for oneself, that is, fighting back with fire, even if that means “The killer in me is the killer in you.”
As to bring more evolution to the set, mid-point numbers like “Purple Blood,” and especially “Ava Adore” transported the show into a futuristic vehicle of dramatic poetry, lyrics intended to navigate the awe of dark allure, as if drifting a crowd of approximately 20,000 people into a digital, parallel universe of gods and profound love pain horror. This spell of music would temporarily be broken, sort of, by James Iha’s occasional, sparse, mechanically spoken words to the audience.
Upon one, if not his only discourse with Corgan (a quick chat over performing an acoustic duo), Corgan replied, “These people don’t want acoustic. They want to rock.” After all, this was a show with a standing room pit section in front of the stage. Nonetheless, an acoustic version of “Tonight, Tonight” was beautifully executed. Those guitars then vanished.
The World is a Vampire tour would remain loud and dark, major Pumpkins hits included all night long. “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” was a vocal highlight, Corgan nailing, “Despite all the rage,” with rage in his voice like a rat in cage.
From their new album, “ATUM,” the songs “Spellbinding,” “Empire,” and “Beguiled” would each be presented near the end of the set (FYI…the new album kicks butt).
Then, of peculiar note, the anthem of a generation, “1979” was performed, mostly by the original recording, as the band’s backing track taking lead, at times without the band playing, just Corgan on live vocals (that was interesting).
The evening came to an abrupt end (obviously planned) as “Cherub Rock” closed the show. There was no need for an encore. Rather, it was the song’s lyrics, that cried, “Let me out.”
Remember: “people have no responsibility to give a shit about what’s come before.”
For Pumpkin fans, this was the experience of a lifetime. It was what came before, and it was something to identify with next, a glimpse of the new album performed live.
