The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas presents . . . The Smashing Pumpkins at The Boulevard Pool, Las Vegas, Nevada, October 8, 2011.
The Smashing Pumpkins rooftop poolside on a beautiful fall night. Sounds amazing? Well it was. Sure, it’s not the original lineup and of course some people are going to complain that it can’t be The Smashing Pumpkins with only one original member. Those people are wrong in my opinion because the remaining original member is frontman and phenomenal guitarist, Billy Corgan, and since he’s the voice and driving force behind all that is The Smashing Pumpkins, those naysayers can just talk amongst themselves, I’m not listening. Bands change lineups and as long as the heart and soul of the band remains then it’s The Smashing Pumpkins.
The setlist was a mix of tracks from their upcoming album, Oceania; a couple of songs from their Teargarden by Kaleidyscope project Vol. 3; three songs from Pisces Iscariot, their 1994 compilation of b-sides and outtakes; and two hit songs, Cherub Rock from Siamese Dream and Bullet with Butterfly Wings from Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness. The complete set list is as follows: Quasar, Panopticon, Starla, Geek U.S.A.. Muzzle, Window Paine, Lightning Strikes, Soma, Siva, Oceania, Frail and Bedazzled, Silverfuck, Obscured, Pale Horse, Thru the Eyes of Ruby (“I Am One” breakdown/solo/outro), Cherub Rock, Owata, and the encore, Bullet with Butterfly Wings.
The crowd was mostly engaged and enjoying the new music, the less familiar songs, and as expected went crazy for the hits. I did hear some rumbling about the band not playing enough hits but personally I appreciate the band gave us more than their top 10 hits. Fans should seize the opportunity to be exposed to songs you may have never heard, in a live performance, by an artist who created them and wants to share them with you. Maybe if the show sucked, I would feel differently but this was an awesome performance by a true artist. The fact Smashing Pumpkins has a lot of hits doesn’t mean they are obligated to stop creating new music and sharing it. Kudos to The Smashing Pumpkins for continuing to be creative.
The Smashing Pumpkins: Billy Corgan - Guitars, Vocals, Songwriting; Mike Byrne - Drums; Nicole Fiorentino - Bass; Jeff Schroeder - Guitar.
Connect with them at: www.facebook.com/smashingpumpkins and www.smashingpumpkins.com
2 comments
Show #3: The Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas, CA, USA on October 8th, 2011 « The 2011-2012 World Tour Blog by Crestfallen.com & Bystarlight.org says:
Oct 16, 2011
[...] as long as the heart and soul of the band remains then it’s The Smashing Pumpkins.’ - Karen Mandall Photo by Erik [...]
Show #3: The Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas, CA, USA on October 8th, 2011 « bystarlight.org says:
Nov 3, 2011
[...] “The Smashing Pumpkins rooftop poolside on a beautiful summer night. Sounds amazing? Well it was. Sure, it’s not the original lineup and of course some people are going to complain that it can’t be The Smashing Pumpkins with only one original member. Those people are wrong in my opinion because the remaining original member is frontman and phenomenal guitarist, Billy Corgan, and since he’s the voice and driving force behind all that is The Smashing Pumpkins, those naysayers can just talk amongst themselves, I’m not listening. Bands change lineups and as long as the heart and soul of the band remains then it’s The Smashing Pumpkins.” - Karen Mandall [...]