Finally, the day of the concert...we were so excited that we got there about 4 hours early. When we got there we waited outside some back doors and met some other big Pumpkin fans, they were waiting for the tour bus, so we decided to wait around too...some guard came out and told us about the stage, that they had some huge funnel thing on stage and big disco balls, so we didn’t know what to expect. Around 5pm i was listening to the radio station and they said that the band was already inside tuning, so we started to walk to the front to meet the dj’s... suddenly a big bus came around the corner...my heart just began to scream and i looked up into the front window only to see D’Arcy staring into space...my heart jumped clear out of my chest and we began to chase it...we had to stand on the sidewalk but it didn’t matter...when Billy came out in a big toque and black jacket we said his name and waved...he gave a friendly smile and waved, then walked into the building...
We finally walked around to the front of the building and waited for a while...we talked to Bill Courage before he did the interview with Billy and he came back and said "sorry girls, he was in a really good mood, Billy asked, why didn’t you bring those two chicks with you?" so i did my make-up, emphasized silver around the eyes and black lipstick, then later on i won a poster...
It was time to enter...luckily our camera wasn’t discovered so we made our way down to the floor...we got to our seats and screamed, they were 8th row and so damn close! we even had an aisle in front of us so we could see better...Cherie made friends with the guards and got them to take our presents backstage, we had made a present for each member a while ago, and hoped to get them to the Pumpkins...so i hope they got them!
Fountains of Wayne made their way onto the stage and were ok, but i was just too excited, and then around nine the lights dimmed, and mellon collie and the infinite sadness crept through the room filling each fan with excitement...the curtains parted to reveal a huge rocket shaped tower standing over the stage, with lights from top to bottom...then, the greatest moment...Billy stepped onto the stage...wearing his ZERO shirt, silver pants and a warm smile...everyone in the entire audience stood up and began to shout, they took their place on the stage, D’Arcy on the left, Billy in the middle, Matt right behind, James on the right with Dennis right behind, and then started into a driven version of tonight, tonight while lighters glowed and voices sang along...there were so many guards there, no moshing...but everyone still just stood there in awe, trying to take in everything at once...
they went into newer stuff like where boys fear to tread and muzzle, but also into older stuff like rhinoceros...and between almost each song, Billy and James would talk and make a couple jokes...they seemed so happy...something i didn’t expect from the king of gloom...
then Billy got an acoustic guitar out...he played a really soft thirty-three, at one point all the music stopped and he just sang...after, he started to talk...he said that he was going to play a song he had written when he was twelve years old, and that he has never written one better...should have known, played an acoustic version of 1979...
porcelina, it was amazing...the wings on the rocket stretched out to reveal but two more screens, filled with live footage, with a kind of trippy effect around it, some of the time it looked like silver water flowing across it... they started playing a different riff during it...all distorted and i thought, rocket...and then after a few minutes Billy began to sing the last verse of rocket...it was one of the most powerful songs of the night...
they played other songs like an astonishing thru the eyes of ruby, and a exquisite siva...
on some songs they got the crowd really ecstatic, like in fuck you, in the middle of the song they stopped all the music and Billy just stood there, while the audience chanted and yelled...and then he stepped out and wailed, "and coil my tongue around a bumble bee mouth!" and the crowd went wild...
they also played disarm, and Billy kept pointing at James and singing "send this smile over to you" and giggling...it was really cute...
they also went into power driven songs like bullet with butterfly wings and zero which just sent the crowd over the top, but still no one moshed...they would dance, jump and throw their arms about to show their affection for the band...bwbw started out with some clip, it said, "the best circus in the world...world...world" each time the voice getting lower and lower...and then out of the darkness screamed, "the world is a vampire!"...it was so amazing...
Billy also started to stand on top of the monitors like he was going to jump...just walking along them and laughing...i was surprised, James and D’Arcy just kept their places...once all three moved to one side of the stage...all side by side...but other than that, Billy was the only one to move...although while Billy played a silly riff, James told a story about his Uncle Bob or something...
Billy also pointed out a sign someone held, "I CAN DRUM" it read, but Billy said, "sorry, we already have a drummer, Matt is our drummer" and then Matt started to fool around a bit...
i also noticed that in almost each song Billy would either pound his heart, or lovingly place his hand over it, he would also raise his arms in mock triumph, or anger...and at the end of one of the songs each of the members had their arms up in the air...
by starlight was what i was waiting for, i had seen the setlist before the concert and was just waiting to hear it live...it was so soft and beautiful...everyone was quiet and Billy’s voice echoed through the building as the lights flashed around and above us...
around 10pm Billy waved goodnight and left the stage...but it wasn’t over yet, we weren’t going to let it be the end...everyone shrieked including me...calling out...
i can’t remember which was the first encore but i believe it was x.y.u. James told how they had visited the X-Files set and said that they dedicate this song to them...near the end Billy stepped away from the microphone and stood back into the dark, he stood there waiting, waiting...the cheer built up...i don’t know if some thought it was over, but i was just waiting for the best part...he finally went up the mic and began to sing in a quiet sweet voice "and into the eyes of the jackal" he sang it about 5 times, each time getting louder and more intense, until he finally he cried it out...then he let out an unforgettable scream and began to run around the stage with his guitar, he lifted it about his head, behind his back, under his legs...and then began scraping it across some amps and banging it, getting some really cool sounds...he finally went back to the front of the stage and grabbed the microphone stand in rage...he tried to pull the stand down with him as he crouched and sang, but accidently smashed it through a monitor so he gave a surprised look but just let the microphone hang and continued to play...he finished the song off and started to laugh...he went to the side of the stage and pointed at the now flaming monitor that was billowing smoke everywhere...he laughed again and went off...a big crew with flashlights and all came out to fix it...
after, they came out again...this time the riff started slowly...but as the first note thundered through the stadium i knew it was the aeroplane flies high...i began to jump up and down and let out a shrill scream...everyone turned around and stared at me...hee hee...they even had the little recordings in it, just like on the cd... "i don’t want to look stupid when i’m sleeping, i’ve never really liked sunny days" you know...it was wondrous...and once again, the band walked off...still the crowd gleamed with anticipation...shouting for more...
silverfuck, which eventually changed into bury me...in the middle Billy got up and just started screaming "and she was a ho! A motherfucking ho!" and many other rantings...then the stage dimmed, and a big light went on behind Billy...he clawed his hands in anger and the light made everything about him stand out, a big reflection of him was left on the back wall as he reached into oblivion screaming...and then they went into a long trippy solo, many described as acid music, and the screen just kept getting weirder...then as it hushed down, Billy began to wish us all happiness and luck in the new year...and thanked us for giving them so much energy, and that they’d be back in ’98...then Matt, Dennis, James, and D’Arcy left the stage but Billy remained...he went to each side of the stage and waved for a few minutes each...he threw out a couple picks and blew a couple kisses and ultimately exited...
we all left, still in shock of the events that just took place...i was just blown away by their power and love...and will never forget my first Smashing Pumpkins experience...