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October 31, 2000 - Apollo - Manchester, England Concert review by Kirk (kirkhoughton at hotmail dot com) Siva - Zwan : Concert Reviews The Smashing Pumpkins playing Manchester on Halloween, in what I thought would be their penultimate show in the UK, on their last ever tour, brings back great memories for me. I can recall numerous anecdotes from that colossal evening, but I will spare you the indulgences and try to accurately describe the concert with as much alacrity as possible. I remember feeling slightly disappointed that Machina/ The Machines of God had not fully lived up to expectations, probably because I had grown accustomed to the paradoxical emotional beauty of Adore and was anticipating a logical progression on the next album towards a hybrid Black Sabbath-Depeche Mode type of direction. But when Billy entered the stage wearing an appropriately ghoulish Halloween smock, holding his guitar, I believe I experienced what must be similar to what a British soldier feels when he has successfully killed a Taliban insurgent in Afghanistan – namely pure euphoria mixed with relief. In five seconds my attitude to Machina had changed. The opening riff to The Everlasting Gaze boomed from the speakers, Jimmy hit his hi-hat, Melissa wielded her base like a natural rock star, and James looked up at the ceiling in search of the Gods of Rock, leaning back, fretting his six-strings like a man receiving divine instruction. I remember being impressed with the live sound and thinking that Billy Corgan was the coolest person on the planet as he held his guitar over his head. To me the pose was analogous to a man holding a terminally ill child above his head, effortlessly clearing people out of his way to transport the infant to the entrance of a religious shrine. Narcissistic - yes. More self-assured than Adolf Hitler strolling into a pacified Paris – yes. More thrilling for the observer than seeing the Queen walk through the street – almost. They really don’t make rock stars like Billy anymore! Songs such as Glass and the Ghost Children are as good as anything Chicago’s finest have ever written, and they were performed with real panache and an intensity that Billy is famed for. However, dire compositions such as This Time passed by like an appointment at the dentist e.g. you don’t remember the banal conversation with the dentist and it’s a routine check-up that passes by in less than five minutes. A live version of For Martha on the other hand (a song they didn't perform on the night) would have been like a 12-minute liaison with a naked supermodel - full of intensity, ecstatic emotions, self-reflection, and a solemn, melancholy feeling after the carnal act had finished. However, the only metaphorical orgasm in Manchester on offer this particular evening was the next best thing - a run through the back catalogue of classic hit-singles. Disarm, Cherub Rock (complete with exact guitar solo as on record), Tonight, Tonight, and Ava Adore were all attacked with glee and devoured by the crowd like vultures. Rather annoyingly, though, Bullet with Butterfly Wings was over-extended and stripped down so that the chorus was not as skull-crushing as it should be. Likewise, Zero was unrecognisable in its format (and the key of the song changed), but a lengthier, crunchier version of Heavy Metal Machine and a bruising encore of Fuck You (An Ode to No One) soon dashed any lingering disappointments. At the time Machina II had not been released and I remember Billy and Jimmy jamming for a good 20 seconds in between songs, playing what turned out to be the riff to Lucky 13 at one stage. This was one of the high points of the night because it seemed to re-energise the crowd. Some of the kids who were into Slipknot at the time (they were immensely popular in 2000) were blown away by how heavy it sounded and, no doubt, were impressed by Billy down-tuning his guitar 3 semitones. The lads behind me started to shout for I Am One after the band wrapped up the 20- second imporvisation of Lucky 13, but, unfortunately, Billy and Co. resisted the temptation. Overall, though, the show will probably be remembered by all who attended for the encore of 1979. For this spectacle the band surprised us all by changing outfits and taking to the stage wearing football kits! Billy had on a Manchester United shirt, James (if I remember rightly) was wearing a Manchester City kit, and Jimmy and Melissa were also wearing sports gear (although I cannot remember now what it was). Jimmy joined Billy and James on Guitar and Melissa kept the rhythms ticking on acoustic bass for what was an extraordinary performance. The sense of humour displayed by the band was well appreciated by the fans, but it was also laced with a feeling of tragedy, for it was here, and here only, that I fully came to terms with the fact that a part of my life was going to be over for good. If this had been the final epitaph of the band it would have been a dignified and noble way to exit the music business, but, thankfully, they are back and rocking as hard as ever in 2007. Long live the Smashing Pumpkins! |
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