By Francis Cabal
The Smashing Pumpkins concert in Manila was marred by a lot of things, none of which were the band’s fault; unless you count the fact that it took the band twenty years before playing a show in this country. But as Billy Corgan said during the press conference for the concert (which you can listen to at the end of the article) , “You gotta come the right way; so finally we’re here, under the right circumstances.” The concert that was supposed to be on August 7 was moved to the next day, and while the weather was certainly better than the previous day, it was still pretty bad. Add to that the massive traffic jam on EDSA and the seemingly hundreds of people in line for the MRT, and you’ve got yourself a quest worthy of any boy wizard or unassuming hobbit.
Trust me though, it was all worth the hassle.
Teargarden Of An Epic Scope
When Billy Corgan got together with drummer Mike Byrne, guitar player Jeff Schroeder, and bassist Nicole Fiorentino, it was not to try to capture their former glory. It was an active effort to create something new, rather than an attempt to recapture what it was that made the band work the first time around. Corgan is not a fan of nostalgia tours, to the point of dismissing these reunions altogether. “They’re essentially coming back only to make money playing their old albums and maybe somewhere in the back of their mind they’re thinking there might be a future.”, Billy Corgan said during the press conference.
Before you even say “Get off your high horse, Billy”, you should realize that this current incarnation of The Smashing Pumpkins was put together with the idea of making another record in mind. Ignoring the criticisms that were thrown at “Zeitgeist”, Billy Corgan and company set out to make the 44-song epic “Teargarden By Kaleidyscope”. Their latest album “Oceania” is a part of this project, a smaller part of a bigger whole, yet something that holds its own as not only a cohesive album but a return to form for The Smashing Pumpkins.
When asked about “Teargarden By Kaleidyscope”, Corgan lamented the poor reception of the EPs they released prior to Oceania, saying “In that period, everything we put out was like ‘It’s not old Smashing Pumpkins! It’s not old Smashing Pumpkins! Of course it’s not old Smashing Pumpkins, I’m not in old Smashing Pumpkins.”
“We tend to kind of be a little bit isolated from other bands, we’re not very social that way.. that seems to be a smashing pumpkins tradition.” – Billy Corgan
Billy Corgan is on a quest to prove himself time and time again. This has made him one of the most polarizing figures in rock music, and in turn, this has made The Smashing Pumpkins one of the most polarizing bands in rock music. But whenever he doesn’t try to please anyone is when he succeeds the most, and these successes are what made The Smashing Pumpkins also one of the most beloved and respected bands of its era.
“Oceania” is one such success, an album that managed to please the fans and critics while still subscribing to Corgan’s vision of what The Smashing Pumpkins should be. It was heavy, it was melodic, it was psychedelic, and it had everything that was good about the early Pumpkins records and more.
Tonight, Tonight
A Smashing Pumpkins Manila show has been a long time coming, but it was inevitable. Billy Corgan has been in touch with the Filipino community since his early days, and he even gushed about how humbling it is to play for a country whose culture he ultimately respects. And this love was returned in spades by the fans who braved the rain in order to see the band play. It was the only time I saw that many people in the Araneta Coliseum in a long time, and what’s even more fascinating is that these were all familiar faces: fellow musicians who are also fans of the band, friends who were there because of a shared love for the Pumpkins.
It took a while before the band went onstage, but when they finally did, it was nothing short of electric. They played the entirety of “Oceania” and it was well received by the fans that were there, even if some of them attended to watch the band play material from their earlier albums. They ended the first set with a cover of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” and marked the beginning of the second set of the night where they played classics like “Tonight, Tonight” in all its haunting glory, “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” (if you closed your eyes, Mike Byrne sounded like a young Jimmy Chamberlain), “Luna”, and “Today”.
As a gift to the Filipino fans who were there despite the horrible weather, they played an extra long encore that included “Ava Adore”, “1979“, “Stand Inside Your Love”, and “Muzzle”. They ended the show with a little bit of levity when Jeff Schroeder suddenly played the opening riff of Kiss’ “Black Diamond” that they performed in its entirety, a totally unplanned moment that left the fans and the band with smiles on their faces.
The Future Of Smashing Pumpkins = The Future Of Music
The show at the Araneta was another amazing show that The Smashing Pumpkins can tick off from their list on this generally well-received tour. But what’s next for the band? Of course it’s still a long way before they finally finish their 44-song masterpiece, but judging by Oceania’s success, they’re off to a great start. The songs are there, and most importantly, the chemistry is there. When talking about his current bandmates, Corgan states that ““No, they’re not intimidated, nor should they be. How we work in intimate spaces is like a family: we eat together, we travel together. We don’t sleep together! But we have musical respect and, also— maybe in a way that was lacking in some of my earlier bands—we have personal respect, and that’s coming out in the music.”
That statement is pretty telling, and it’s pretty obvious when you listen to the new material. Billy has finally found his band. He is ready to move on with a new group of people, ready to perform to a new set of fans.
“We made a lot of people a lot of money by just being weird.” – Billy Corgan
During the press conference, Corgan had a lot to say about how the media has co-opted alternative music. According to him, “Alternative culture is also about values: being yourself, being an individual. And when those things are hijacked and then it becomes more like a fashion show, show-off-y bullshit, I don’t know. That’s not the world I grew up in. And maybe I sound like an old man like that, but I don’t feel that. I feel that there [are] a lot of people out there who don’t want that. They love alternative culture because it says freedom, independent thinking, exchange of ideas; not ‘Hey, you’re not cool enough; get out of here.”
His main point being that alternative culture is a culture that thrives through inclusion. Looking around the huge stadium that night, it was clear that everybody felt included. Everybody was there because they love the band, and it was also clear that The Smashing Pumpkins is a band that is grateful to their fans.
Now, hopefully they come back here for another show, and hopefully the weather cooperates… perhaps we’ll see Araneta Stadium packed to the rafters with people, the way it was always meant to be.
Photos by Nina Sandejas
