9/11に行われた、The Smashing pumpkinsのポートランドでのショーのレビューがオレゴン州の情報サイトoregonlive.comに掲載されています。ポートランドはアメリカ西海岸の上の方（シアトルよりも上）に位置するオレゴン州内の都市。（最近ではヴァンパイア映画「トワイライト」のロケ地としても有名ですね）このポートランドにほど近い、ビーヴァートンはバンドのドラマー／マイク・バーンの出身地ということで、この日のショーには彼の家族や友人も駆けつけるなど、特別なものになったようです。
今回のステージは大変盛り上がったそうで、レヴューも高評価。故郷に錦を飾る形となったマイク・バーンについても「コンサートの後半にマイクのドラムソロが披露されたが、素早い片手の動きで印象的なドラムさばきを見せつけた。ドラムソロはロックのコンサートでは月並みなものだけれど、この日にはとてもふさわしいものだった。”Bullet With Butterfly Wings” では先走ってしまった所もあったが、マイクは20年の年月を経て成熟した輝きを放っていた。ドラムソロが終わるころ、フロントマンのビリー・コーガンは群衆を煽り、マイクを大きく讃えた。」と書かれています。
アンコールの際にはビリーはマイクとふざけ合い、「ほんとはまだバンドの正式メンバーじゃなかったんだけれど、今夜ここで正式に所属したことが証明された」と言ったり、また、ショーを見に来ていたマイクの家族にも感謝するとともに、「女性の皆さん、マイクは独身です。でも彼はまだ実家暮らしです。」とコメントするなど会場は和気あいあいとしていたとのこと。見に行けた人がうらやましいショーですね。
原文は下記
Musicfest NW review: Smashing Pumpkins, with Beaverton drummer Mike Byrne, keep alt alive in Portland
Published: Sunday, September 12, 2010, 10:39 AM Updated: Sunday, September 12, 2010, 6:24 PM
Billy Corgan cemented his reputation as the elder statesman of non-grunge ’90s rock, but it was the youth in his band that fired up the Smashing Pumpkins’ concert Saturday night at the Wonder Ballroom.
Gone are the days when the Pumpkins ruled the radio airwaves with their potent mix of psychedelia-meets-metal-goth-pop, fired by Corgan’s signature seething whine of a voice, but the new lineup, with bassist Nicole Fiorentino, guitarist Jeff Shroeder, and most notably, young drummer Mike Byrne from Beaverton (read The Oregonian’s Q&A with Mike Byrne just before he returned to town with his band), seemed to invigorate Corgan. Their youthful energy propelled the sound, with Byrne’s sharp, crashing drumming giving Corgan a solid base for his layered, screeching guitar.
Corgan ventured on stage with his signature bald pate and long-sleeved black T-shirt, crashing into heavy chords as near blinding stage lights flashed and flooded the sold-out crowd. The hit, “Today” ignited the fans, but hits were hard to come by during the hour-plus show. Corgan and company instead opted for more Asian-influenced psychedelia, with tunes from the band’s four-year long recording, “Teargarden by Kaleidyscope,” which is being released one song at a time. Those songs showed off a modal edge, as on track, “Astral Planes,” which sounded like a Buddhist chant put to a driving beat and heavily distorted guitars. It was here that Corgan showed that he wasn’t just a frontman but also a darned good guitar soloist, shredding licks that would make Van Halen raise an eyebrow. But noticeably absent were tunes like “1979” and “Disarm.” Corgan preferred instead to focus on his stripped down psychedelia, which in the middle of the show dragged on, especially during an extended, feedback-filled jam. Better were crunching tunes like “Tarantula,” and “United States” from the “Zeitgeist” album.
Corgan shined when he was one with his guitar, as on his version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Star Spangled Banner,” complete with tooth-picking string work, and his playful (yes, the new Corgan can be playful) Allmann Brothers interplay with Shroeder.
The rest of the quartet had a chance to shine Saturday night. Fiorentino thundered her bass and added high harmonies while Shroeder impressed with his soloing prowess. But it was Byrne that people were there to hear, including his family, who Corgan called out in the crowd.
Byrne got his drum solo near the end of the concert, showing off with rapid-fire licks, including an impressive one-handed flourish. Sure, a drum solo is a bit cliched in rock shows, but here it seemed appropriate. Byrne flashed moments of brilliance and a maturity beyond his 20 years, even if the sneering hit “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” was a tad rushed. As Byrne banged the huge gong behind his drum kit at the end of his solo, Corgan was there to pump up the crowd and sing his young drummer’s praises. During the encore and introduction of the band, Corgan kidded with Byrne.
“Well, you weren’t really in the band, but tonight you proved you belong,” Corgan said with a chuckle.
He praised Byrne’s family; “Thank you for raising a fine young man … he’s single, ladies, but he still lives at home.”Corgan commented on the oppressive heat in the Wonder (“It’s always a pleasure playing on the surface of the sun”) before he and the young ones turned up the knobs to 11 on the encore, “Zero,” a crowd-pleaser. Openers Bad City, also from Chicago, with their rock star posturing and heavy sound, could easily have fit in at the Whiskey in 1986. They warmed up the crowd with an infectious, if cliched, metal sound.
— Kyle O’Brien
