So... last night at the last possible millisecond I ran from Veselka (mmm pierogies) to Webster Hall and managed to squeeze as close to the front as humanly possible just seconds before the lights went down and then... it was Billy Corgan time. Awww... I have to tell you, I LOVE seeing this man onstage. I don't care what he's playing, if he's rocking out with Iha and Chamberlain (and that crackhead Wretzky possibly) or if he's standing there blowing into a kazoo and doing a jig, I will still fall in love with him over and over again.
Billy has so much presence it's insane. And I'm not just talking height and striking baldness... it's just his whole being. So then you hand him a guitar and a seriously beautiful and mesmerizing light display and it's just all kinds of awesome. But yeah... it would help if the new songs didn't feel so empty in a way that a lot of people find hard to put into words. Something just doesn't feel right, and while they are good songs, they just aren't great and I think for a lot of people it's just this overwhelming feeling that you get because you KNOW he could do better than that. At least that's how it was for me.
So. Now we just wait for the reunion tour.. but if you have a chance this time around, I say go see Billy anyways. It may not be the same, but it's nice to catch up with an old friend every now and then and see him smile. I'm glad I went.
Spin.com has better pictures than I take. And the rest of mine are here.