News 990421-1
The recent Smashing Pumpkins concert at Celebrity Theatre on Wednesday, April 21, was an enormous success thanks to the intimate venue and the set list of full rock material. Contrasting sharply from the band's nearly sold out 1996 concert at America West Arena, only 1,888 fans who went to incredible lengths to secure tickets had the opportunity to listen to the band's more obscure collections from a maximum distance of 75 feet.
The Pumpkins opened the show with a wide variety of songs from each of their four full length albums before digressing into new material. Straining to be heard above the deafening roar of guitars in a small setting, singer and guitarist Billy Corgan's voice cracked and was swallowed beneath the music-- a circumstance which turned out to be irrelevant, given the fact that every fan in the theater sang the words for him. Unfortunately, the band approached every song aggressively, hardly pausing for the sweet melody of "Today" and a delicate new acoustic tune. Bassist D'arcy and guitarist James Iha merely swayed to their music, letting Billy Corgan take care of most of the stage banter and theatrics. The upbeat, spacey version of "1979" was an energetic close for a two and a half hour, three encore show.
Despite the obvious success of the concert, long time fans marked the show with importance due to the fact that it marked the return of drummer Jimmy Chamberlain, who was kicked from the band in 1996 after overdosing on heroin. Many critics have commented that the band simply was not the same without the jazz educated drummer, whose technically proficient style was an anomaly in current rock music. However, his return-- which followed comments like "he's out of our lives, one-hundred and ten percent" (Billy Corgan, 1996)-- may be seen as a quick reversal from the band's strict stance against drug abuse. Did the lack of commercial success of their 1998 album, Adore, and it's ensuing world tour-- which donated all of its proceeds to charity-- change the band's principles?
Despite its obvious merits, the appropriately titled "Arising" tour, which hit only a select few American clubs, was a bit ambiguous in its meaning. Questions as to whether the Pumpkins will continue their reign as one of America's greatest rock bands or self-destruct with concessions to past personal and musical mistakes will not be definitely answered until the band's new album, due out in September.