News 960827-1
Smashing Pumpkins Triumphant Return To Action
Most successful two -CD set ever.
The Smashing Pumpkins first official show with new touring drummer Matt Walker and new touring keyboardist Dennis Flemion was, for the most part, a solid success. Playing to an estimated 7,500 fans at the Thomas & Mack Center arena in Las Vegas, the revitalized Pumpkins sounded incredible, as they powered through Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness material like "Zero," "Bullet With Butterfly Wings," "Tonight, Tonight" and others. At one point during the performance Pumpkins' leader Bill Corgan told the crowd, "We haven't had the easiest year...but I don't want to talk bout that... I want you to know that we don't take anything for granted. We certainly don't take you for granted." According to Mike Wetherford, a reporter at the Las Vegas Review Journal, the band seemed a bit stiff at times and weren't always able to connect with the audience. That's to be expected. After nearly a decade with the same line-up, one doesn't expect even a veteran band like the Pumpkins to be able to change their drummer and keyboardist and be completely at ease by their second public appearance (the group performed a club date last Friday, as previously reported in Addicted To Noise). Meanwhile, "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" has just been certified by the RIAA for shipments exceeding 7 million copies, thereby making it the best-selling double-CD in history. To crown a good week, the Pumpkins are up for 9 MTV Video Music Awards for "1979" and "Tonight, Tonight," including, Best Video of the Year, Best Alternative video (for "1979"), Best Direction in a Video, Best Special Effects in a Video, Best Art Direction in a Video, Best Editing in a Video, Best Cinematography in a Video, Breakthrough Video and Viewer's Choice. Speaking to the L. A. Times after the Vegas show, Corgan said, "We're surprised at how unweird it felt out there. We worried it might feel creepy or weird or some kind of deflated stage, but it doesn't feel like that at all."