Date :
19 April 1999
Country :
US, Denver, CO
Venue :
Ogden Theatre
Reviewed by :
Capacity : 1,100  
Opening Act : Queens of the Stone Age  

Set List : I Am One - Zero - Pug - La Dolly Vita - Glass's Theme - Virex - Dross - Speed Kills - Blue Skies Bring Tears - Stand Inside Your Love - Glass + The Ghost Children - Wound - Cash Car Star - Ava Adore - Today  
Encore 1 : Muzzle - Soma  
Encore 2 : Home - If There is a God - With Every Light  
Encore 3 : Geek USA  
Encore 4 : Siva 
OK, enough suspense. The doors opened like 8:15 and the security was tight, they patted everyone down and made us empty out our pockets and they searched the womens purses. Because of the lag i bought a t-shirt before the concert instead of after so they didn't run out. We got inside and the way the Ogden is laid out is kinda weird. It used to be an opera house, so there was the symphony pit, the main floor, then a level a bit higher than that, then the bar, then the balcony. The pit filled up really quick, and i was disappointed that i didn't get down there, but later realised that was the worst spot to be anyways. I was on the level right above that, to the right side right up against the railing. I had a clear shot of the entire band. and was a little above eye level to them. The place filled up in about 20 minutes then the Queens of the stone age came on. They pretty much sucked, but we have to give the some credit. I mean, they are opening for the Smashing Pumpkins for Christ's sake, and they are playing in front or 1300 people that don't care who they are, and want them off the stage as soon as possible. Tough crowd. So they played for about 35 minutes they were jerks in my opinion though, the lead singer at one point said "i want to f**k all of you for coming there tonight individually" i was like, umm ok. Then before the last song he said "turn of up the house lights, i want to get a picture of all of you giving me the finger" so everyone flicked him off and he took a picture with his point and shoot camera. Oh well. Then in the last song or so the bassest decided to crowd surf with his guitar. Whatever... ok.. now the interesting part.  

The Pumpkins came on at about 10pm and as soon as the lights went down, the noise was deafening. It was amazing. They opened with I am One, as you all know and it rocked. Then went into Zero, which also rocked. Then Pug, which was really sweet, it also rocked (seeing a general trend here? They rock!) The fourth song was La Dolly Vita which was soooo cool. I recognised it as soon as they started playing it and started screaming, it took everyone else about 5 seconds to catch on. But that was the basic jist of the night. The crowd was kinda boring, they only were really moving for the songs they knew, everyone just kinda stood there for the new songs. It pissed me off cause i was the only one on the right side jumping and screaming. La Dolly Vita was really soft and sweet until the end when they totally started jamming. It once again RAWKED. All the while Billy was smiling and interacting with the crowd, he didn't say anything until after La Dolly Vita though. James and D'arcy didn't look up once. It was really cool, i was about 15-20 feet away from Billy and he looked at me a couple times, at one point i was pointing at him saying "you the man" and he pointed back and smiled. That totally made my night.  

After the first four songs, Billy said thanks for coming, some other stuff, ( i don't really remember) and this was the welcome back reunion tour ect. Then they went on to play, count them 11 new songs. Holy shit! It was so cool.. Crash Car Star was #4 and before they started that one Billy said, "This is what finally made us decide that Jimmy was the drummer for us, this is what make him pass the audition" That song totally rocked. I sang along to the parts i knew, and was totally jumping and screaming. The other 10 songs rocked as well. Damn let me tell you, if you thought they have gone soft. HELL NO, the Smashing Pumpkins are definitely back and ready to kick everyone in the ass with some serious rock! There was some really cool solo's and great drumming. After those songs, they left the stage.  

The first Encore:  
Well up until the point James just kinda sat there and jammed with Billy, but as soon as he walked on stage, it was like something sparked he was looking at the crowd, smiling, waving, and he spoke to us. He said "I was eating earlier and decided to do something interesting, i think we should mix up some of our old songs with the new ones." Then they went into Muzzle, which totally rocked, then Soma. Soma was beautiful.. Wow, At the end the final riffs of the song, Billy and James were facing each other playing the chords and James messed up and fell to the floor laughing and Billy stopped and they were laughing. It was really cute. D'arcy all along was quite and looked bored.  

The second Encore:  
This was more new stuff, they played one more hard song, and then that soft acoustic song that we have heard about. Wow, that was amazing. I think it was my favourite new song of theirs because Billy played solo for about 2 minutes without any of the members on stage, then after that they came back one and finished out the song. He voice was incredible, and i didn't really make out the lyrics, they sounded beautiful. The they left the stage again and once again the noise was deafening.  

The third Encore:  
James and came out again and said something, i don't really remember. Then they went into as you all know, Geek USA. HOLY SHIT. It was perfect. They totally rocked. The guitar was jamming, the drums were slamming. It was incredible. Absolutely unbelievable. What perfect ending. But wait, not the Pumpkins. Like everyone says they like to out do themselves. So as they were getting a drink of water after Geek USA, and people were screaming, Billy held up his index finger signing "one more". And guess what..  

The Super Encore:  
James came to the mic and said, we are now entering the super encore phase. And the played Siva. I couldn't believe it. It totally rocked, it was absolutely amazing. They didn't miss a note, and rawked the entire time. Towards the end when D'arcy's part was done, she just left the stage and Billy shrugged his shoulders and smiled at us. Then James and Billy jammed, then when James was done, Billy and Jimmy just went at it, was some bitchin guitar and drums. Then james walked over to Billy's mic, picked it up and impersonating Billy, just screamed into the mic. Billy was laughing , the crowd was going nuts and they were rocking on stage. It was truly amazing. Finally, it had to end. They finished jamming. Came up to the mic and Billy said thank you, you were great, good bless goodnight. And was giving us the peace sign, and clapping to us, and putting his hands down and bowing to us, and point to people in the crowd. It was so cool. Finally, the left the stage, the lights came up, and it was over. 2 hours of Pumpkin rock. 13 new songs (11 in the show, 2 in the encore) and 8 old ones. What a show. It was truly a night to remember!  

That is all i can think of for now. If you have any questions about the show, go ahead and email me. All i can really say is that the show was beyond my wildest imagination. They didn't miss a note, Billy's voice was incredible, and Jimmy is back, a badass as always. As for the next album. Wow, i can't wait. Having a taste of what is to come, let me tell you. It is better than you can possibly imagine. Thanks for listening to me bable. And may you all get to listen to the Pumpkins in a place like that sometime or another! 
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