Tonight, Tonight, These Pumpkins Are Hot
September 8, 1996
By Mark Bialczak
(Thanks to Jessica Phinney for typing this out).
They stomped their feet in unison, making a clamor that matched anything the usual hockey fans who inhabit the place can ring up. They started a boisterous wave, sound swiveling around the old Onodaga County War Memorial on Saturday night.
And when The Smashing Pumpkins finally took stage, the 8,000 delirious fans really made some noise. With seven MTV Music Awards fresh in their pockets from that high voltage soiree this past Wednesday night, it could be argued that The Smashing Pumpkins are the hottest rockers around right now.
The people jammed into the War Memorial Saturday night didn't want to argue about it. What they wanted was a good, new-fashioned rock show. The Pumpkins gave them a state-of-the-art spectacle. Behind the band stood a stage to ceiling erector set derrick. The thing was so big that a portable stage had to be set up in front of the usual, tucked-into-the-wall space for it to fit. From the monster blazed strobe lights, search lights and party lights. It was patrolled by a guy aiming a camera at the audience.
And behind that stood two gigantic screens. After all, what's a hot rock show to the MTV generation without cool images to go along with the music. SO the Pumpkins also served up dancing eyeballs, "Planet of the Apes" clips, soaring jets superimposed by dancing martial arts specialists and other odd fare.
Musically, singer and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassits D'Arcy (no other name given or needed), drummer Matt Walker and keyboardist Dennis Flemion did their darndist to overcome the bouncing acoustics of the old arena. Corgan even laughed a bitter chuckle, pointed to the painted ceiling and mumbled something about the acoustics.
It didn't really matter. The Chicago five simply blasted the way into everybody's skull. After the dreamy instrumental introduction, the title cut from their latest, 1995's double-disc "mellon Collie and the Infinite Saddness," it was nothing but one, big, raw, exposed nerve show. There was a nod of the bouncing head to the band's older stuff, and surely the crowd loved knocking around "Siva", "Cherub Rock" and "Today". But it was undoubtedly the power from "Mellon Collie" that fueled the energetic evening.
It was as if The Smashing Pumpkins still had a few to prove, popularity contests aside. After all, the drummer and keyboardist have been touring with the band for just two weeks now, in time when the original three band members are still wounded from the drug overdose of touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin and subsequent dismissal of longtime drummer Jimmy Chamberlin.
The new players fit in just fine socially, and even the sleepy radio hits "Tonight, Tonight, " and "1979" absolutely boomed on stage, with Corgan's voice teasing. The tunes "Zero" and "Stumbleine" roared like the best punk ever did. In fact, a mosh pit began to break out on one side of the floor, but security guards quickly quieted the crowd.
Corgan and mates preferred to joke around a bit. When announcing the band, they doodled to the vintage "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida." And Corgan even threw in some hometown Chicago blues. But before leaving they served up three encore’s worth of blister and bluster, with the devilish "X.Y.U" whipping the crowed up into a frenzy worthy for the hottest band of the moment.
Wednesday's MTV award-a-thon for the Pumpkins didn't make things any easier for the opening power trio for the tour. But Grant Lee Buffalo played mightily and furiously, ripping out a sonic if somewhat redundant set.