I was lucky enough to catch the Smashing Pumpkins (minus Darcy) in 2000 during the Sacred and Profane tour. The show was epic. I’m almost sorry I went to the RIMAC gig because Billy & Co. was a shell of who they once were and has effectively destroyed my memory of who and what the band should be. I find the new guitarist and bassist boring and they lack the energy of a rock band. If they were inserted behind a curtain with Billy and Jimmy placed front and center, I wouldn’t have noticed. However, the addition of a keyboardists, violinist and the trumpet players were quite nice. The additonaly instrumentation sounded really beautiful on “Tonight Tonight”, one of the few songs played during the night that sounded like the original version. My main gripe with the performance wasn’t that the songs were changed into unreconizable rock versions with guitar solos but that Billy didn’t seem into the show until the very end when thanking San Diego for their support. Sure, the songs showcased Billy’s amazing guitar work but everything was dissapointing.

what i got of the set list:

Superchrist
As Rome Burns
Bullet
Bodies
Gossamer
Tonight, Tonight
Song For A Son
Eye
I Of the Mourning
99 Floors
Owata
The Rose March
MCIS
Tarantula
G.L.O.W.
Soma
Cherub Rock
Zero
Heavy Metal Machine
Glass
The March Hare/ Suffer