Kevin Bronson on October 17th, 2012

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By Chris McRitchie

The intermission music consisted of UFO, Deep Purple and other hard rock and metal classics. What show was I at, Iron Maiden? Judas Priest? Nope, I was at the Smashing Pumpkins concert Sunday at the Gibson Amphitheatre. Was I surprised by these choices? No. Billy Corgan recently made some comments disparaging so-called indie rock, Pitchfork and its ilk, while championing Ritchie Blackmore. He’s Billy Corgan, he’s a craftsman, he’s a better songwriter than you, a better guitar player than you and he’s right.

Smashing Pumpkins are touring behind their most recent album “Oceania.” They play it in its entirety before you hear one note of “classic” Pumpkins. It’s a ballsy move by the best of bands, but it worked on Sunday.

• ||| Photos by Carl Pocket

Opening the show with “Quasar” into “Panopticon,” the Pumpkins let the crowd know right off the bat that they came to play. The current SP lineup consisting of drummer Mike Byrne, bassist Nicole Fiorentino and guitarist Jeff Schroeder are a powerful force. Not enough to let you completely forget the past, but definitely enough to embrace the Pumpkins future. I was shocked at how much guitar Billy didn’t play during the “Oceania” set. Having never seen this lineup live, it was surprising to see Corgan defer to another guitar player. Schroeder held his own and then some.

The Pumpkins performed on a stage that had a giant white orb above it, flashing Pink Floyd/Tool-esque images that ranged from beautiful to disturbing. If only they sold mushrooms at the concession stand. The lighting and imagery went seamlessly with the music. The mellower numbers (“Pinwheels,” “One Diamond,” “One Heart”) worked as well. With enough keyboards on stage for a Depeche Mode show, the Pumpkins pulled off a well-balanced, dynamic performance of “Oceania.” At one point during the set, Corgan joked with the crowd that they would get to the dusty classics later. “Yeah,” he said, “some stuff off “Dookie,” “Ten,” “Superunknown,” “Nevermind,” “Van Halen 1 …” It was a tongue-in-cheek poke at a bygone era, and his part in it. (Underrated). The “Oceania” set closed with “Inkless” and “Wildflower,” and the keyboards were then removed from the stage.

The second set opened with a spirited cover of Bowie’s “Space Oddity” (very fitting and timely, as Felix Baumgartner broke the sound barrier earlier in the day, jumping to the earth from a balloon in outer space.) From there the Pumpkins veered into the deep cuts and hits from “Mellon Collie,” “Siamese Dream,” “Adore” and even “Teargarden. The classic songs were played faithfully, some with more interest from Corgan than others.

The band plowed through “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” as if they were late for their flight. “Zero” and “Cherub Rock” sounded great, as Corgan’s whisper-to-a-scream vocals were in great form. He was in a good mood as well, joking with the fans about being sued, having a faux metal guitar riff-off with Schroeder, getting the crowd to scream louder (citing a Judas Priest show he had seen at the Gibson and how Rob Halford got the crowd to scream). They closed the show with “Muzzle,” which hadn’t been played on this tour thus far.

“Oceania” is a good record, and the album made for a great show. The nearly sold-out crowd would attest to that. If you’re staying away from the Smashing Pumpkins’ new material or the live shows because of some affection for the past, you’re missing out and missing the point. It’s 2012, and as the Pumpkins showed at the Gibson, they are all about the here and now.