The Moon Tower

The Smashing Pumpkins

Wembley Arena, London 16/10/2018

Billy Corgan has decided it’s time to rock again. After a well-received and mostly acoustic solo album released at the end of 2017, rumours of a Smashing Pumpkins reunion tour to commemorate the band’s 30th anniversary were confirmed. Initially, a run of US arena shows was announced, and then just two in Europe - one in Bologna, and one in London, where we are tonight.

Wembley Arena is pretty much full, and the demographic entirely predictable - Generation X-ers, equally male and female. It's probably not far removed from what you'd have seen 20 years ago, but with a few more grey hairs and deeper pockets, which is just as well considering the ticket prices for tonight's show.

Given the standing of the Pumpkins on my "favourite bands of all time" list, we splashed out on gold circle standing and have a good view about a quarter of a way back on the arena floor. From past experiences of Wembley Arena, I was reluctant to get seats considering how many bad sounding concerts I've seen here over the years, and the standing option proved to be the right one, with the mix being very good where we were.

As mentioned earlier, with tickets prices very firmly the other side of £50, it's something of a relief that money has clearly been spent on the show. The stage set itself can’t have come cheap, with giant screens reconfiguring themselves constantly, displaying relevant visuals for each song. And with a set consisting of 31 songs, and running to just over three hours, you'd be hard pressed to complain about lack of value for money. Heck, record labels don't finance tours these days, so bands have to make their dough somehow.

Billy Corgan opens the set with a solo version of Disarm, standing alone in front of the giant screens that show snaps and Super 8 video footage presumably from the Corgan family album circa 1970-something. It’s an interesting way to start what is billed as a band reunion, but things take a more expected turn when the whole band comes out for the next song, Rocket, also from 1993’s Siamese Dream.

This is the first major tour for this iteration of the Pumpkins, and the first time the band has contained what is effectively three lead guitarists. Original members Corgan, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin and newly reacquainted guitarist James Iha are joined by guitarist Jeff Schroeder, bassist Jack Bates and keyboard player Katie Cole. The lineup works well, and you’d be hard pushed to fault the playing on any of the songs in tonight’s set.

Special mention goes to Jimmy Chamberlin who is as awesome as ever. Arguably the best drummer of the 90s, he puts in a shift here, from the jazz inflected hard rock grooves of early material like Siva, to the bombastic likes of The Everlasting Gaze. He's a rarity in the drum world in that he has a style and sound so identifiable that even non-drumming mortals like me can pick him out in the space of a few bars.

As for James Iha, I have to admit that in his 18 year absence, I'd forgotten how much he adds. Whether it's his ethereal guitar tones, or his extra dry stage banter "I hope you're having a.... reasonable time", he’s clearly not just there to bring in the extra ticket sales. The chemistry between him and Corgan when trading licks on the likes of Soma or Mayonaise seems genuine; and I don't think either of these guys is one to fake enjoyment on stage, especially at this point in their careers.

Mainstay of the “rotating lineup” era of the Pumpkins, Jeff Schroeder, has thankfully not been pushed into the background by the return of Iha, and gets plenty of chances to shine, not least during the solo section of Stairway To Heaven, a slightly bizarre choice of cover thrown in halfway through the set. There are even a few moments of Iron Maiden-esque triple guitar soloing with all three axemen clearly having a lot of fun.

Three hours standing is a commitment, but the setlist is very well-paced and holds interest. Songs are taken only from the band’s original output from 1991 to 2000, the sole exception being Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts) from the new album Shiny and Oh So Bright Volume 1: No Past. No Future. No Sun. Highlights for me are storming versions of Porcelina of the Vast Oceans, Cherub Rock and Hummer, along with one of Adore’s finer moments, the subdued To Shelia.

Unfortunately, some of the audience’s attention seemed to wane during the quieter numbers, which I found a bit odd being in the gold circle, and I saw a good deal of reviews after the concert complaining about the length. But at the end of the day, if you're a real fan of any band, you'd happily watch them for three, four, five hours... Maybe it’s just me, but as far as music goes, the concept of too much of a good thing doesn’t apply.

Setlist: Disarm / Rocket / Siva / Rhinoceros / Space Oddity / Drown / Zero / The Everlasting Gaze / Stand Inside Your Love / Thirty-Three / Eye / Soma / Blew Away / For Martha / To Sheila / Mayonaise / Porcelina of the Vast Oceans / Landslide / Tonight, Tonight / Stairway to Heaven / Cherub Rock / 1979 / Ava Adore / Try, Try, Try / The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning / Hummer / Today / Bullet With Butterfly Wings

Encore: Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts) / Baby Mine

Check out The Smashing Pumpkins on Facebook and their official site.

Live Reviews : Interviews : Live Music Photography : and More

Established July 2017