Cover of Zeitgeist

Back in 1988, the Smashing Pumpkins played their first show at the Metro theater in Chicago. This Friday at the Auditorium Theater, the Pumpkins celebrated 20 years of music (or “20 years of burning bridges,” as lead singer Billy Corgan put it) with the third of four shows in their hometown and the release of a documentary If All Goes Wrong. Unfortunately, the final show in the series was postponed due to illness on Corgan’s part.

Disregarding the postponed performance, the Friday show still went over with great success. The setlist was primarily dedicated toward music from the Pumpkins’ later years rather than the Siamese Dream era, although select Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness mega-hits like “Tonight, Tonight” and “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” made the cut.

The show opened on a high note with a ten-minute drum solo of remarkable proportions from the inimitable Jimmy Chamberlin. When the earth stopped shaking and the cymbals stopped ringing, a full band (brass section included) took the stage and broke out into colorful ’60s rock music. Just when things seemed their strangest, 6 feet 3 inches Billy Corgan emerged dressed in a long white robe/dress and a massive headset. Chicago Tribune writer Greg Kot put it best when he referred to the look as a “cross between the Statue of Liberty and an Aztec deity.” Billy disrobed soon after only to reveal his trademark “Zero” T-shirt, but he still had a long frilled skirt on.

With the crazy get-up gone, the band charged forward with “Tarantula,” one of the most ferocious songs they’ve ever recorded. The brilliant sustain of Billy’s expertly crafted guitar tone cut through the theater like a bullet, reminding the audience of what a real guitar hero sounds like. The intensity hardly subsided throughout the night as the band extended most of their recorded material into jam sessions backed by superhuman drumming. Highlights included “The Beginning is the End is the Beginning,” an older song best noted for its use in the Watchmen trailer.

Corgan delighted the audience with some of his odd and frightening musings. He tried to make contact with a woman in a seat he had occupied during an Asia concert when he was a child. When the woman failed to notice, he had some choice expletives for her. He then jokingly recalled how the engineer of Siamese Dream walked off the project to work on the bassist from Asia’s solo project. “That album went what, ten-times platinum?” joked Corgan, sarcastically. “And he died in a firey car crash cuz he f***ed with us!”

The show closed with a twenty-minute cover of Pink Floyd’s “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun,” a move which has garnered a lot of negative press for the band in past tour dates. The song degenerated into Billy smashing his guitar on a pair of innocent timpani drums. Unlike the earlier show at the Chicago Theater, many fans loved it and were spared of Billy’s insults. But beware those angels with their wings glued on. Some alleged Pumpkins fans complained: “He can’t just avoid all his awesome songs. He’s only making f***ing noise,” ranted one fan as Billy left his guitar ringing on the floor of the stage.

The Saturday night set, which was slated to include fan-favorites such as “Cherub Rock,” was sadly postponed two weeks until Dec. 8. On Friday, before playing “Mayonnaise,” Billy had warned that he was “[cough cough] a little sicky,” but he still sang fantastically, banishing his reputation of being a poor vocalist in earlier years. Nevertheless, the band cut the excitement short for countless supporters who may or may not be able to catch the show in early December.