The Smashing Pumpkins

The ARISING! Club Tour

April 14th

Tramps (New York, NY)

-Chris Kelly

-photos by Avana Pea (Copyright 1999 The Smashing Pumpkins)

Despite the fact that it is lead singer Billy Corgan that represents everything the Smashing Pumpkins stand for, the clear star of the evening was drummer Jimmy Chamberlain (pictured live below), who was fired for heroin addiction during their 1996 Infinite Sadness tour.

The band played a mere four songs from their past two records, Adore and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness , both of which were harshly criticized as being 'too soft' at times. The album in the spotlight for the evening was Siamese Dream, their 1993 mega label debut.

Opening up with "I Am One," the first single from their independent label debut, Gish, the Pumpkins sent the already moshing audience into a frenzy, as the song hadn't been played for years prior to this tour. With no album to promote, the band played tracks not regularly included in their live set, as well as eleven brand new songs which could possibly be included on their currently untitled upcoming LP (Virgin), set for a September release.

The new songs: "Dross," "Wound," "Stand Inside Your Love," "Blue Skies Bring Tears," "Cash Car Star," "Glass' Theme," "Glass and the Ghost Children," "Speed Kills," "With Every Light," "Virex" and "If There Is A God" show that Corgan has put his lullabies to rest and returned to writing music for the same Smashing Pumpkins that resided at number one on the charts for so long. If the music from the Arising tour is a taste of things to come, the band should have no trouble reclaiming their place on top.