Spread the Social Love:

Review: The Smashing Pumpkins - The Hisense Arena Melbourne [Live]

2 August 2012 // "Although musically there are moments where your attention starts to wander, visually the show is mesmerizing"

by AdamTogether, August 3rd, 2012 and has been Read 1549 times.
Last Edited by: Ffion Davies August 3rd, 2012.

Iconic grunge legends The Smashing Pumpkins are in Australia for the Splendour in the Grass Festival which took place in Queensland last week, but they’ve kindly also booked a string of sideshow dates across this vast country in order to accommodate their Aussie fans who weren’t able to make it to Splendour.

Supporting Billy and co. at Melbourne’s Hisense Arena are Australian retro-rock favourites Wolfmother who blast out their 70’s inspired hard rock to a receptive if not too lively crowd. Although the sound does seem to suffer from support act syndrome, with an inadequate mix causing their multi-layered sound to become muddled in the expanse of in the Hisense, the band play with vigour and bombast none-the-less. Mop-topped frontman Andrew Stockdale is a born rock-star and throws all the shapes without crossing the boundary into self-parody.

It’s a shame the mixisn’t as crisp as it could be, as we don’t get to hear the full effect ofhaving The Vines’ Hamish Rosser bringing extra percussion and keys to the party. Having said that, his extended harmonica jam during 'Dimension’ sounds awesome and highlights perfectly the band’s classic rock attitude.

It goes without saying that their hits like ‘Woman’ and apowerful rendition of ‘The Joker and the Thief’ get the best response from a somewhat apprehensive crowd. With a more attentive sound controller and a less atmosphere draining venue they would have been able to live up to their reputation as one of Australia’s hardest rocking live bands.

Although no official announcement was made, word spread after the preceding Sydney and Perth shows that The Smashing Pumpkins would be playing their latest record Oceania in full tonight. Sure enough, with the ominous opening keys of 'Quasar' the rumours become reality. Although the album was warmly received by both press and fans, it’s a very brave move that borders on self-indulgence given that the record is barely 2 months old. The opening track and lead single ‘Panopticon’ featuring Corgan’s signature razor sharp guitar tone are warmly received, however some of the more ethereal songs like ‘My Love is Winter’ tend to meander listlessly.

Although musically there are moments where your attention starts to wander, visually the show is mesmerizing. Behind the band hangs a huge orb, on which swirls surreal video projection. One minute you’re floating through space, the next there is a hand held out while an octopus tentacle slowly wraps around it. It might not be Amon Tobin’s ISAM, but it’s certainly one of the most visually enthralling stage set ups I’ve seen at a rock show since Tool stopped touring.

A lot of the album has a very atmospheric sound and while these mainly synth led tracks do sound fantastic played on a massive sound system, after half an hour or so the set is distinctly lacking those sing-along-moments that can make a live gig so special. There are some good songs on the album that will surely become fan favourites at future gigs, but they’ve not yet had chance to grow.

The lack of crowd interaction is visible, with most of the punters either stood statue still or sat in the seating section, arms folded. For most of the set the only movement from the crowd is the constant stream of people heading to the bar.

WATCH // 'Oceania'

The album’s title track is one redeeming highlight of the first half of the show as it is a stunning piece of work, full of intricate arrangements, shifting time signatures and inspired lead work courtesy of Corgan and newly recruited guitarist Jeff Schroeder.

Much like the latest incarnation of Guns ‘N’ Roses, the newline-up of The Pumpkins is essentially Billy Corgan with a session band, but they’re a bloody good one at that. Although I’m sure plenty of people miss the iconicdouble team of James Iha and D’Arcy Wretzky in the line-up, their replacements are arguably better musicians. Old Bill is on fine form too. Despite looking slightly more portly than in his younger days, the few extra pounds haven’t effected THAT voice one bit.

Eventually, the closing notes of the thoughtful final Oceania track ‘Wildflower’ die out and without further ado the band start jamming to an unrecognisable song. The looks of confusion turn to excitement when Billy steps to the mic and theatrically groans the words “Ground controlto Major Tom” and the realization hits the crowd that they’re hearing a Pumpkinised version of David Bowie’s classic ‘Space Oddity’. For some bands messing with classics can be dangerous territory but in the hands of a creative powerhouse like Billy Corgan, this version is inspired.

Next up is a monstrous version of ‘X.Y.U’ that showcases more than any song on Oceania just how heavy The Smashing Pumpkins were capable of being in their heyday. The cheers that accompany this classic make it clear why the majority of the crowd are here tonight. You can feel the atmosphere change in the place as the crowd, like someone has flicked a switch and a surge of electricity has jolted the crowd awake as they start jumping around madly, a couple of mosh pits breaking out here and there.

WATCH // 'Zero'

From here on in it’s a true greatest hits set, and the band plough through stunning versions of ‘Disarm’ ‘Tonight, Tonight’ and the gorgeous ‘Today’. It seems to go far too quickly and before you know it the band leave the stagebefore re-convening for their encore featuring an absolutely thunderous rendition of ‘Zero’.

By the end of ‘Cherub Rock’ even pockets of people in the seating section are on their feet however you can’t help but think that the entire crowd would be going wild if they’d played like this for the entire set. As Corgan says, “All the other bands are playing their old albums all the way through but we played our new one” Yes, Billy, there’s a reason why not many bands play their new albums live: It’s risky, it alienates many fans, and frankly it doesn’t always pay off.