The Smashing Pumpkins at Gunnersbury Park
Alt-rock sensations The Smashing Pumpkins made their mark on the music scene in the early 1990s, some 35 years ago, after their groundbreaking, gritty debut album Gish. Despite not hailing from Seattle, the birthplace of grunge, the Chicago rockers are often lumped in with the notable genre, with their signature loud and distorted guitars. Whatever category you put them in, they were and still are unique, and their experimental sound has been credited with shaping the alternative music scene.
The Sunday evening show took place in West London’s Gunnersbury Park, marking the anniversary of their 1995 album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, as we were reminded by the band’s formidable lead singer, Billy Corgan.
To everyone’s pleasant surprise, the group took to the stage ten minutes before they were due on, although initially it was easy to mistake them for the sound testing, only because of their unusually understated entrance. This caught much of the crowd off guard as the band quickly launched into the opening number, Glass.
As the set picked up, recognisable favourites were met with reserved appreciation from the audience, while Bullet with Butterfly Wings, Today and Heavy Metal Machine were all suitably heavy and brilliant. It was especially noticeable that the band’s new live touring guitarist, Kiki Wong, was having the time of her life playing them.
Before launching into the classic 1979, Corgan brought up the recent Oasis reunion, which was met with a mixed response from the audience, as he remarked, “Maybe we should just play Champagne Supernova?” Judging by the reaction, it was a good job that this turned out to be a joke – maybe The Smashing Pumpkins and Oasis fans just don’t have much overlap.
The gig’s second half featured fewer of the band’s most popular tunes while working in some newer and lesser-known songs. It’s a different approach to how it’s usually done, as many artists choose to play their top tunes towards the end of a night, but this way clearly suits The Smashing Pumpkins.
Despite previous rumours that Corgan and co no longer like to play their hits, the set was packed with them, and you’d have a job finding anything notable they missed. However, it’s clear, and somewhat understandable, that Corgan prefers to play his newer songs, as he took on an altogether new energy for the epic Edin, taken from the group’s 13th studio album Aghori Mhori Mei.
After neglecting any obvious encore, the band finished up with the lively 00s track The Everlasting Gaze, which included a nod to the recently passed heavy metal god Ozzy Osbourne with a snippet of Black Sabbath’s NIB.
Sunday night’s show was a genre-bending rollercoaster, and Corgan’s voice sounded on point at every moment – not to forget the incredible guitar solo he shredded on Edin. Bursts of heavy metal choruses mixed in with punky undertones were followed by shoegazey guitar solos, and even a dreamy cover of Berlin’s 1980s hit Take My Breath Away.
It’s evident the band still has so much to give, coming from over three decades in the game and having already broken up once. Never underestimate The Smashing Pumpkins.
Hannah Broughton
Photos: Mike Massaro/Hello Content
For further information and future events, visit The Smashing Pumpkins’s website here.
Watch the video for Cherub Rock here:
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