Smashing Pumpkins play Oceania at Roy Wilkins in St. Paul

Some may argue that Billy Corgan is The Smashing Pumpkins. But a barely two-thirds full crowd at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul, MN made it evident that many music fans think differently. The Smashing Pumpkins now have Jeff Schroeder on guitar, Nicole Fiorentino on bass, and a fresh-faced twenty-two year old named Mike Byrne replacing Jimmy Chamberlin on drums. This leaves Billy Corgan as the last remaining original member of The Smashing Pumpkins who once ruled the 90s.

Although the crowd was light, this show was good. The Smashing Pumpkins are on tour in support of their 2012 release Oceania, and they played through the album in its entirety before finishing the night off with older material. Oceania sounded great at points, but the cold block walls of Roy Wilkins didn’t create the best environment for such mellow and emotional songs. Billy Corgan at times looked as though he was just going through the motions, and at other times he showed the powerful presence that made him famous.

At the back of the stage a large sphere designed by Sean Evans who recently worked on Roger Waters’ tour for The Wall, donned visuals to the songs of Oceania. The crowd remained respectful and quiet, until Oceania was complete. The cover of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” got the crowd stirring and the heaviest song of the night, “X.Y.U.” from Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness, got a small mosh pit started on the floor. Security was quick to disband that, and the rest of the evening was uneventful, with the crowd singing along to classics like “Tonight, Tonight”, “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”, “Mayonnaise” and “Cherub Rock”.

Coming in at 2.5 hours, fans got their monies worth, and overall this was an entertaining performance. Billy Corgan may have gotten older, but he still has his snark, and plenty of gas left in the tank. The new Smashing Pumpkins are all fantastic and well-respected musicians, but for me, the raw energy of the music was oftentimes missing. It’s easy to say the band is not the same without the original lineup, because if they were, they would have sold out a larger venue than Roy Wilkins Auditorium.

The Smashing Pumpkins

Smashing Pumpkins – Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St. Paul, MN 10.20.12 Setlist:
Quasar
Panopticon
The Celestials
Violet Rays
My Love Is Winter
One Diamond, One Heart
Pinwheels
Oceania
Pale Horse
The Chimera
Glissandra
Inkless
Wildflower
Encore:
Space Oddity (David Bowie cover)
X.Y.U.
Disarm
Tonite Reprise
Tonight, Tonight
A Song for a Son
Bullet With Butterfly Wings
Mayonnaise
Cherub Rock
Encore:
Ava Adore
Zero
Black Diamond (KISS cover sung by drummer Mike Byrne)

Anberlin