Fans of The Smashing Pumpkins expecting a nostalgic trip recounting the anthems of their youth may feel a little short changed from the £35 they have spent to come and see the band tonight. A combination of factors, including Billy Corgan being completely opposed to the idea of his band becoming a ‘heritage act’, a new album Oceania set for release in March 2012, and the band's ongoing and typically intricate 44-track concept album Teargarden by Kaleidyscope with each individual track to be released as a free download as soon as it is completed, it may be a case of wishful thinking to expect to hear all of the band's ‘hits’ tonight.
The new material is scattered throughout the band’s set tonight, easily resting amongst the shoegaze and mildly psychedelic prog-rock that has become a staple of the Pumpkins’ musical style in recent years. Opening the set tonight, and poised to be the first song on the new album, ‘Quasar’ is a heavy and primal jam that rises to a crescendo - although it offers little else in terms of intrigue it is a steady opener that sets the show off in a positive mood until, ‘Panopticon’ reduces this early enthusiasm amongst the crowd to a nodding of the head.
Technically the band are faultless. Each instrument is given time to shine throughout the set despite the dreadful acoustics of the O2 Academy. The guitars are thick and all encompassing, ripping holes through the venue with their chunky yet precise riffs and psychedelic breakdowns. The band chooses to keep their heads down and concentrate on playing their instruments with the only crowd interaction coming as Billy Corgan stepping out from behind the microphone and presenting his guitar to the front row of the audience during one of his may face-melting solos.
‘Geek USA’ provokes the first mass movement amongst the crowd and is played with robust and prevailing force. ‘Cherub Rock’ also from the bands breakthrough album ‘Siamese Dream’ sounds dense, lush and almost tangible in its sheer power. ‘Soma’ progresses from a delicate and intricate guitar line to a massively layered explosion of musical force. All of these songs are big highlights within the set and a few other fan favourites pop up now and again (‘I Am One’, ‘Frail and Bedazzled’). The set as a whole however stagnates in parts; the majority of the show sees the band (and audience) slightly subdued, several of the new songs result in Corgan engaging in an overboard ego-stroking session with slow build ups and indulgent guitar solos. At times the band can seem a touch disinterested in the music they are playing, slightly going through the motions on songs like ‘Muzzle’. With high budget light shows intertwined between every other song supposedly designed to create ‘atmosphere’ there is an uneasy flow about the show, never really picking up momentum. We have to wait until the encore which encompasses ‘Zero’ and ‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings’ until the band really kick into fifth gear, and seemingly start to enjoy themselves.
Unfortunately, the concert is distinctively average. The band never really get going and the new and unfamiliar songs seem to slow things down even further rather than creating intrigue. It was never going to be a dream set of the band's classic hits and it would be wrong to scathe the band for not playing them, but it seems that the audience are waiting for the band to explode and this never really happens. Sadly technical skill cannot replace enthusiasm, aggression and anthemic songs - factors associated with The Pumpkins of old, but not The Pumpkins of new.