thePULSE
By Jason Savio
“Do you want to know what I’m going as for Halloween? A well-adjusted person,” joked Billy Corgan to a costume-donned audience at The Smashing Pumpkins’ show this past Saturday, October 28, at The Agganis Arena.
The prince of 90s alternative rock led his new incarnation of The Pumpkins ~ including bassist and Ludlow, MA native Nicole Florentino, guitarist Jeff Schroeder, and drummer Mike Byrne ~ through two solid hours of new and classic material. Fans were treated to a stellar performance of the group’s new grandiose album Oceania from beginning to end for the first half of the show, proving that The Pumpkins are anything but a nostalgia act.
Starting with a blistering version of the album’s opener, “Quasar,” Corgan and Co. never slowed down and barreled their way through the entire album non-stop, armed to the teeth with three keyboards and at least fifteen different rotating guitars. Above the stage loomed a giant sphere, containing images and designs mirroring the spirit of each song and completing the immersive experience.
As Oceania neared its end, it gave way to a haunting jam that turned into a surprising and elevating cover of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” The energy in the arena, already way up there, spiked as the band seemed to take a collective breath and let loose with their most popular songs. Corgan’s ferocious screams in “X.Y.U.” were filled with pure venom, and the explosive Generation X rocker “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” sounded just as scathing as ever.
The veteran Corgan honestly seemed to be enjoying himself, smiling and poking good-natured fun at the audience. From the audience to the band itself, he was in complete control, signaling breakdowns and pace changes to his band mates with the fervor of a maestro. For an artist who has been through so many band conflicts and personnel changes, Corgan seems to have come out the other side better for it, content now with where his life-long project is at. After all, when you can still put on a performance like the one The Smashing Pumpkins did at The Agganis Arena Saturday night, who wouldn’t be?
