I was on the way to an event with my kids when my good friend, Joshua Gilmore, called and said “I have free tickets, do you want to go see Smashing Pumpkins tonight? We have to leave right now.” I called my wife and said “change of plans.”
Pvris Photo Gallery
We got there late and they were playing the first song, The Everlasting Gaze, as we were walking in from the parking lot. They play Zoo Station, a cover by U2. Tonight, Tonight was a great song that was played a few songs later and they played it with enthusiasm. Billy played his iconic white acoustic guitar with the big black star on it. The new female guitarist, Kiki Wong, did an amazing job on the ax. This girl can shred. There was also a second female with an acoustic guitar towards the back of the stage. I did notice that they used backing tracks since there was no keyboard player. The three guitars had such a huge sound complete with a double kick bass and large symbols. It gave a huge full sound to fill the outdoor stadium. The crowd got into every song and sang all the lyrics which is to be expected after 36 years of making music. The fans were in unison for Bullet With Butterfly Wings from beginning to end. Kiki played an amazing guitar solo and everyone was on their feet for her performance. James said, “How are you doing SC with your hot state?”They also played 1979, Jellybelly, and Zero. Next, it was Billy’s turn for a guitar solo along with a long instrumental song. Then the set just ended. The last note and nothing more. It was an incredible show. I was thankful to finally get to see this band live. They did not disappoint.
The Smashing Pumpkins Photo Gallery
