Smashing Pumpkins Bring  The World Is a Vampire Tour, along with the rock, the roll, and the…joy(?!) to Charlotte. 

The world may be a vampire, but it doesn’t always suck. 

Review: Andy Frisk

Photos: Dianna Augustine

“Usually James, I’m having an existential crisis, but I took today off!” retorted Smashing Pumpkins lead singer, songwriter, and all-around former “death rock boy” and “king of gloom” in response to his lifelong friend, and Smashing Pumpkins guitarist, James Iha’s question as to how he was feeling that night. 

And with that response…the world, which may or may not be a vampire, was informed that Billy Corgan is indeed…happy. 

This little episode of friendly banter came after what was a massive, hard-hitting, and rocking,  thunder roll, not unlike that made by legions of stomping, Doc Martin-attired Pumpkins’ concert attending fans as existed circa 1995, of a two-song set opener that included “The Everlasting Gaze” and “Doomsday Clock.”

Both songs are lesser-known radio hits for the band, and much newer chronologically than their hit parade of songs which includes the obvious ones like “Today” and “1979.” Those two of which, when played later on in the set, caused the cute high school freshman couple, replete with brand-spankin’ new, bought with daddy’s credit card, matching SMASHING PUMPKINS shirts, to erupt into what can only be described as imitations of pogo sticks on speed.

Their radio-friendly induced highs were sporadic though. When Billy and company played a masterful live version of “Perfect” from ADORE, the couple decided it was selfie time (again).

When the band played a transcendent version of “This Time” from MACHINA, the exasperated couple shrugged and sat down. Finally, when Billy launched the band into “Purple Blood” from the wrongly maligned CYR, the poor kids decided on a potty break. 

This being the third time I’ve seen the Pumpkins live since 2018, I was a little concerned that I might be in for a bit of a letdown, or at least a repeat of the previous two show’s hits and histrionics.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. It seems that the third time was the charm, as the Pumpkins were more loose physically and emotionally, and more tight musically than they were the previous two times I’d seen them. They also, to return to a theme, seemed…happy.

Not just, “HE-LLOW CHARLOTTE!” happy, but genuinely…happy. Plenty of friendly banter, joking, self-effacing humor, and a new resonance to the Pumpkins’ more happy songs (yeah, they have what can be construed as “happy” songs) helped lighten the moments between the rock n’ ragers. The old pogo fit-inducing hit “Today” felt somehow lighter, and more honest. The “pink ribbon scars that never forget” of the song seemed more like a trophy of perseverance than a reminder of a near-fatal mistake. “Perfect” felt outright hopeful as Billy promised with the line, “we’ll always be good friends/the letters have been sent.” This time, it felt like his promise of a positive relationship with an ex-love was possible (it is), and not just a snarky parting shot. 

The flip side of this newfound rise of the great, happy pumpkin is that the world didn’t feel much like a vampire that night. “Bullet With Butterfly Wings,” the hit off of 1995’s masterpiece MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNESS, lost some of its rage, despite how many rats were in the metaphorical cage.

While the song was played and sung perfectly, a feat not to be overlooked for a nearly 30-year-old song, and its nearly 30 year older singer/guitarist, it felt more like a background soundtrack to a distant time of upheaval than a relevant, tour title beknighting hit.

More contemplatively complaining hits, like the aforementioned “Doomsday Clock” with its socio-political undertones and warnings about how we seem to always nearly destroy ourselves at least once a generation, carried more resonance. 

Speaking of vampires, the real vampires in the building that night were openers Interpol. Bringing the cool, ringingly repetitive sounds of NYC post-punk (think Echo and The Bunnymen but harder), Interpol made the most of their black shades and matching black outfits. They actually seemed to cool the crowd, and the local atmosphere, with their cool sounds.

A frosty New York breeze was refreshing after the hot Southern California, via the Deep South, swagger of the first band to take the stage, the excellent Rival Sons. 

The world might be a vampire, especially when it’s a hot, muggy evening in Charlotte. It isn’t always the biting, sucking villain it so often seems to be though, and of all people, Billy Corgan, King of Gloom/Death Rock Boy has declared this to be, whether he meant to or not. 

See full gallery of the night here!

If you happened to capture any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see.