“We don’t even care, as restless as we are
We feel the pull in the land of a thousand guilts
And poured cement, lamented and assured
To the lights and towns below
Faster than the speed of sound
Faster than we thought we’d go, beneath the sound of hope”
Timeless words from a timeless band echoed through the Palace Theater on April 2nd in Columbus, Ohio, marking a midway on the In Plainsong tour. Billy Corgan proved to a crowd of discerning listeners that Smashing Pumpkins has touched the lives of every single person present that evening. It was a night of rejuvenation as we were all taken back to the early 90s to 2000s to relive those long lost days gone by. The days of angst and mistakes made in the name of love, of sitting in the corner writing horrible poetry in a notebook while Corgan reminded us that all that really mattered was “Tonight, Tonight”. No? Just me? Okay then, back to the show.
A timeless Liz Phair, guitar in hand,  titillated the crowd with her indie rock flair. As relevant as it was then, Exit to Guyville competes with (if not surpasses) any modern day attempt to achieve that emotion, and Liz put it out there with the same energy and edginess. A landmark artist in alternative rock, we knew we were in for a real treat of musical wizardry. And the magic was palpable in the air.
As the evening drew on, we all stood back and inhaled the magical time-warp in it’s entirety. Dimly lit intimacy highlighted the man known as Billy Corgan, the master behind Smashing Pumpkins, as he took the stage. Lyric after lyric, note after note, we maneuvered and meandered through songs that defined a formative epoch in our lives. We swayed side to side, fully immersed in the heady atmosphere, the notes weaving together those memories that only hearing old favorites can bring back. Singing all of the words that meant so much to us back when they first hit our ears brought the realization that the words are just as important, but the meaning may have changed for each of us over time. It was like meeting an old friend and picking up right where you left off twenty years ago. Against a backdrop of cherry blossoms, a surreal environment for a surreal artist, we ladled our cups full with songs from Siamese Dream,  Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Machina/The Machines of God, Oceania, among others.
If one word were needed to define that evening, masterful is the only word that comes to mind.
