The first time I saw Stone Temple Pilots and Smashing Pumpkins was in 1994 in Florida; who could have guessed that almost 30 years later, I would be photographing them both at the beautiful new Yaamava’ Theater! It truly is a gorgeous venue and they really do have the nicest staff I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with!
STP was smart to come out of the gate playing all their hits and people really enjoyed singing along. They had a long set for an opener; a solid one hour and 15 minutes. Front-man Jeff Gutt was very familiar; his appearance was eerily reminiscent of Scott Weiland, as well as his voice and mannerisms. With his hand over his heart, he took a moment to acknowledge Weiland and told the crowd how much he is missed.
Gutt asked the crowd of gamblers how many had won and how many had lost. He decided the people that won money owed the all the losers a drink.
STP’s first three songs were heavy hitters: “Wicked Garden,” “Vasoline,” and “Big Bang Baby.” The crowd was on their feet and dancing. They rocked through “Down,” “Meadow,” “Big Empty,” and “Plush” before Gutt introduced “Interstate Love Song” as his absolute favorite.
Personally, I was most excited to hear “Dead & Bloated” because I think that song packs a real punch. After “Crackerman,” they granted my wish and tore through “Dead & Bloated” before closing their set with “Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart” and “Sex Type Thing.”
When their time arrived, Smashing Pumpkins took the stage, bathed in stunning stage lighting. Billy Corgan was dressed in a long black lab coat, looking like a demented doctor of darkness; a stark contrast from James Iha, who was dressed head-to-toe in bright white – perhaps the light you see at the end of the tunnel.
Corgan was also made up as usual with black eye liner and a black and gold insignia on his forehead.
It was nice to see the familiar faces of Iha, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, and guitarist Jeff Schroeder. A gorgeous lady named Katie Cole has been touring with the Pumpkins and singing backup vocals. She was absolutely enchanting in her floor-length, black gown with her long, wavy crimson hair.
“The Everlasting Gaze” led off a set mixed of hits, obscure songs, and new material. Corgan joked that the crowd reminded him of an aerobics class as they constantly stood up for the hits and sat back down for the other songs.
After a nu-metal-ish cover of Talkign heads “Once in a Lifetime,” “Today,” and “Perfect,” they played the song I had been waiting for, “Disarm.”
Corgan interacted with the crowd frequently; he even bent down to a couple in the front row and held the woman’s hand as they sang a song to each other.
“Doomsday Clock,” “The Celestials,” “Purple Blood,” and an extended version of “Ava Adore” brought us to another wonderful moment. Corgan and Iha did an acoustic version of “Tonight, Tonight” that was really lovely. Iha made everyone laugh when he asked the crowd what they should play, and then said he didn’t give a shit because they’d play anything they wanted.
After giving the crowd hits “Bullet with Butterfly Wings,” “Spellbinding,” one of their new singles, “Empires,” “Beguiled,” and the mega-hit, “1979,” there was a humorous moment when each member of the band starting playing an intro to a Pink Floyd song. They started with “Wish You Were Here,” then teased us with “Money” and “Another Brick in the Wall, Pt 2.” For their last two songs – they do not do encores – they did “Cherub Rock,” a song that everyone was apparently dying to hear because they stood up and went crazy, followed by “Zero.”
Despite the years since the first shows and now this one, both bands are still incredible and put on a fantastic show!
