Reviewed on Wednesday February 28
The stark lettering on the gig bracelet read, “VOID IF REMOVED”, and with that omen of existential angst the scene was set. Though it’s more accurate to call The Smashing Pumpkins’ show The Billy Corgan Experience these days, it’s also a little unfair – yet lyricist and oh-so-distinct vocalist Corgan was always the soul of the band, and if my teenage crush on Melissa Auf der Maur remains unrecognised, so be it.
Having been relocated from the Hordern to the carnival shores of Luna Park, this was always going to be an interesting gig. Wandering past the Ferris wheel and distorting mirrors, there was a strong sense of surreality you carried across into the Big Top, where sleepy goth girls were sprawled around the sidelines and 40-year-old fathers were frowning at the drunk bogans. When the band emerged, you were struck by that distinctive Corgan frame staring calmly out into the audience; he looks a lot like a supervillain who traded in world domination for rockdom. After close to 30 years in the business you expect a singer to become more subdued with age, yet his voice is powerful as ever – from pleading, insalubrious whispers to ceiling-quaking screams, the guy can sing the stripes off a tomcat.
The set opened with a strong trio showcasing many of the band’s strengths: ‘Cherub Rock’, ‘1979’ and ‘Ava Adore’. The latter became a remorseless, sultry anthem for a uniformly ecstatic crowd, but in truth, from the opening notes of ‘1979’, Corgan had us hooked. While the band’s new album Monuments To An Elegy is a little patchy, performing live Corgan throws his all into selling its songs alongside the best of his catalogue.
It was a loyal crowd willing to be happily led wherever the band chose, but it was the classics, of course, that really made this night rise. ‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings’ still stands up after all these years, and when the Pumpkins emerged for their encore with ‘Tonight, Tonight’, you witnessed one of those genuinely rare live moments when you are made freshly conscious of how exhilarating and communal music can be. It was a nostalgic but above all fun gig, made all the more memorable since Corgan himself seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself. Let’s just hope they stay together long enough now for another taste.
