Friday August 1
The Washington Post
--Patrick Foster

PUMPKINS SQUASH THE MOSH
    People crammed Constitution Hall on Wednesday night chiefly to hear
the Smashing Pumpkins' distinctive depresso-rock, and Pumpkin king Billy
Corgan (clad entirely in black, natch) gave them earsful.
    Leading the group--D'Arcy (bass) and James Iha (guitar), plus piano
and three percussionists--through "Ava Adore," "Perfect" and "Annie-Dog"
from the recent "Adore" album, Corgan played rock star and sensitive
songwriter.
    Turning the record's gentle timbres into loud declarations, rock
passages into bombastic overloads, and confessional ballads into
overwrought confessional ballads, the band members, who donated the
proceeds from the concert to the District's City LIght School, were
received like conquering heroes.
    Though the convulsive dancing was minimized by a set list that drew
heavily from "Adore," bodies flailed when Corgan dipped into the back
catalogue for "Bullet With Butterfly Wings."
    Occasionally hampered by muddy sound, the set, nearly two hours
including encores, touched all the points of a classic rock concert:
drum solo, guitar histrionics, the occasional acoustic ballad, even a
bouquet of roses for the star.
    Like many classic arena rock shows of the 1970s, from which the
Smashing Pumpkins draw much inspiration, the anticipation was ultimately
more satisfying than the actual event.