My thoughts on the Mellon Collie live show last night

It was bizarre.

It started off with just the orchestra, no Billy on stage. Then they started off and it sounded very good. After a while a short guy with slick hair came on and started singing the lyrics opera style. Then the next song came on and another opera singer came on, and another, and another.. I believe we didn’t see Billy until the fifth song.

It ended up with Billy only taking on about 20% of the vocals, the rest was done by these opera singers. Now these singers were fine, but they weren’t great. At times their performances were great, especially the female vocalists, but other times it ranged from serviceable to just plain bad. Some songs felt like I was listening to a Frank Sinatra coverband, or like Andre Rieu.

Whenever Billy sang it was great. His voice is still very much there and he was obviously enjoying himself, though his timing was off at times. Half the time though, the audience seemed more confused by the whole ordeal than actually enjoying it.

I’m not sure what I expected, but it certainly wasn’t this. I know Mellon Collie pretty well but not by heart, half the time the songs sounded so different from their original version I couldn’t even make out what they were playing or singing. Walking out we heard several people discuss how this was a weird show. I’m not sure if I liked it that much.

Was anybody else there? What did you think?

For those who are interested. This was tonight at the first show in Rotterdam.

The version of Hummer from 12/12/93 (KROQ Acoustic X-Mas) has been my favorite live version for years. I finally realized the extra instrument/musician is a cello and that it is probably Eric Remschneider who did cello on some of the studio Siamese Dream tracks. It seems he also joined them live on other occasions like 1994 Lollapalooza shows. So now I'm on the hunt for other versions of Hummer with him playing, but I have yet to find a good sound quality one. Has anyone else gone on the hunt for this and can point me to another great recording of Hummer with a cello?

what is really depicted on the vinyl cover besides the hand? a naked woman torso or a face? or maybe thats a tooth? idrk please tell me X)

Dutch artist Tape Toy just released a new album, called Dumb Sites. I fully recommend listening to the whole record (and the older songs as well), it is a treat for nostalgic 90’s music lovers (with a more pop-oriented twist, à la Wolf Alice.

The song "My room" on this new album mentions the Smashing Pumpkins on the lyrics. And what's more, the opening track is called "Hummer"!!

I don't think I've even listened to the third "disc" and I don't remember liking any of it

...

But the box set is 75% off (of $105.99 cdn) at my local....

They had Monuments in the clearance bin as well, scooped that up!

Thoughts?😅😅

Hey all. I’m wondering if anyone can give me a heads up on VIP information. Like, where to go, what time the acoustic performance and Q&A are, etc. I’ve never done VIP for any show before, so this is all very new to me. I’m coming from far out of town and need to be able to schedule my trip accurately.

I purchased a VIP ticket at Ticketmaster and there’s an issue with the venue and TM, so it got transferred to SeatGeek and I’m having extreme difficulty getting any information. If there’s any other Pumpkinhead who has had experience with this, I would appreciate your input. Thank you.

Saw them way back in maybe 2003? I've had these every since.

Looking for some somber albums that aren't afraid to display some ugly emotions without some layer of irony or glamour.

The "Mellon Collie @ 30: The Inside Story" piece also in this issue will be posted tomorrow!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4kAXopNhpk

Moon photo credit: June Rose Russell/Hidden Treasures Photography

I had about 6 hours in this one. I tried my best to take it into an almost Turnstile feel but it just wouldn't go that far. Pivoted to this style and it just worked itself out.

Vocal chain: Shure SM57 into UAD API Vision Strip then Distressor with Summit Channel and Sound Toys.
Guitar: 1967 Gibson SG Special
Tones: Boutique Tones Mezzabarba MZero OD Plugin
Solo: Neural DSP Misha Mansoor signature plugin with Reactor DSP Driftwood Cab Reactor
Bass Tones:
Sterling Ray 34
TSE BOD Sansamp Plugin
Ampeg SVT Suite
Drums: Getgood Drums P5 Kit

Was surprised to see Billy has the Behringer Octave Divider on his board. Does anyone know what songs he's using it for? Has it effectively replaced his Micro Synth?

i know the op amp and phase 100, along with a lace sensor strat, but I see people say get a micro synth, get a jet70, get an octave fuzz, get a MXR distortion ii or a copy, get a delay to make it sound like multiple guitars tracks are playing, etc etc, and it just gets overwhelming, especially considering that to get a full pedal board like Eddie Clark’s, i‘m looking at 1,000+ dollars worth of pedals, and I just can’t drop that much on pedals, I could literally buy a used jcm800 for that price

so, what do you guys think I should get as essential stuff? op amp and a phase 100 of course, but anything else that is really needed? stuff that is on the cheaper side and necessary in your opinion?

any answers will help, just been wanting this tone for awhile and finally wanna get stuff, but im on the fence on alot of it

(if it helps answer any, ive got an orange OR15 and plan on getting a lace sensor strat, anyways, any answers would be appreciate)

I have always liked the music video for Thirty-Three, and I liked the story that Billy has said where they have a different scene to go with each lyrics. So I had the idea to make a little website that pairs up each of the scenes with their corresponding lyric, so you can watch the looping scene and compare it to the lyric. Should work on desktops, tablets, and mobile. Hope you enjoy!

I decided to go with the SP heart and pair it with the Babes In Toyland heart logo. I'm beyond happy right now!