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Post by de-tec-tive on Apr 5, 2008 7:37:28 GMT 7
Oh, hey - when BC said "I'll just talk to the crowd"... Was it you lot who he went and talked to? nah the main Ozphoria group were over near Jeff, although i know Joe (insanityshorse) was right in front and met Billy earlier in the day so i reckon he could have been one of them. did he actually talk though? from where i was it looked like he said he'd talk the crowd then just walked up closer and kept playing his guitar.
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Post by hypersomnia on Apr 5, 2008 7:39:34 GMT 7
he started talking to some guys infront of him who i didn't really recognise. a guy behind me screamed out 'thank you' and he acknowledged that.
at one point he was standing right at the edge of the stage in the centre.. just behind this massive security guard who didn't move.. and billy kept lowering his guitar closer and closer this guys head and pulling faces at the front row about how the security guard wasn't even flinching.. billy then pretended to kick him in the head and laughed along with the front few rows. classic.
i suppose.. to highlight how gay the crowd was (again.. i didn't notice it other than this) when he left it open for everyone to sing 'despite all my rage..' and NO ONE sang along.. he literally had to pull peoples teeth to get them to understand that he wanted them to sing that line.
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Post by brendo on Apr 5, 2008 7:40:39 GMT 7
For those interested in what the audio setup was - they were using an L'Acoustics V-DOSC array, with what looked like a DiGiCo D5 desk for monitors - did anyone catch a glimpse of the front of house desk at all?
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Post by brendo on Apr 5, 2008 7:42:33 GMT 7
i suppose.. to highlight how gay the crowd was (again.. i didn't notice it other than this) when he left it open for everyone to sing 'despite all my rage..' and NO ONE sang along.. he literally had to pull peoples teeth to get them to understand that he wanted them to sing that line. to be fair, i could hear the cheap seats attempting to sing it, over the idiots who were just going 'woooooo'.
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Post by kendrick on Apr 5, 2008 7:53:32 GMT 7
Im sure you guys know alot more than me about the setlists and stuff, but i was on the front rail but along to the side... near where ginger was, i could see the laptop that had some kind of powerpoint presentation happening to tell the sound/lighting guy how each song is going to play out.. like he would say "tonight" - acoustic, etc etc .. it would display the next song about 30seconds before the current one ended...
anyway, after United States ... Muzzle came up next, but then someone said something to him and it never happened!
so im only assuming here that they were possibly going to play an encore!?
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Post by brendo on Apr 5, 2008 7:58:38 GMT 7
The guy to the side of stage, was the monitor mixer... you know, foldback, for the performers - all the big speakers actually on the stage, for the band to hear themselves. It was him who was using the DiGiCo D5 that I mentioned just before.
And yes, they were going to play Muzzle as the encore, as other people have said...
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Post by hypersomnia on Apr 5, 2008 8:03:02 GMT 7
[/quote]to be fair, i could hear the cheap seats attempting to sing it, over the idiots who were just going 'woooooo'.[/quote]
glad to hear it was happening somewhere.. especially in the cheap seats.. i couldn't hear that from where i was. the roar of the crowd when he acknowledged them behind the fences was deafening though and it brought a smile to my face... i hadn't heard it at that level at any of the gigs so far.
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Post by de-tec-tive on Apr 5, 2008 8:03:09 GMT 7
to highlight how gay the crowd was (again.. i didn't notice it other than this) when he left it open for everyone to sing 'despite all my rage..' and NO ONE sang along.. he literally had to pull peoples teeth to get them to understand that he wanted them to sing that line. he didn't really give a point for everyone to start singing it though cos they had the breakdown, i would have sang but i don't think anyone knew when he intended us to start.
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Post by hypersomnia on Apr 5, 2008 8:05:40 GMT 7
it felt like it should have just happened from where i was. that said, i stopped singing when i realised no one else was. i am a sheep. sad but true.
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Post by Josh on Apr 5, 2008 8:12:57 GMT 7
OH I JUST REMEMBERED.... FINALLLLLY the crowd did the whole "HEYS" during United States!!! i was sooooo happy!
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Post by stevepatrick on Apr 5, 2008 8:35:19 GMT 7
i thought the crowd response was brilliant last night. the cheering throughout the songs in the first half far exceeded any other show i've seen on this tour. billys dummy spit was a complete overreaction and kinda spoilt the mood of the gig for me. i found it a bit hard to take. the noise had got reasonably high, but give the crowd some credit, they had just spent an hour going absolutely spare at any given opportunity.
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Post by wbm001 on Apr 5, 2008 10:28:39 GMT 7
OH I JUST REMEMBERED.... FINALLLLLY the crowd did the whole "HEYS" during United States!!! i was sooooo happy! That was great. I was feeling very self-conscious in Adelaide being the only one doing it in my area. Everyone was getting right into it last night
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milan
blissed + gone
Posts: 271
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Post by milan on Apr 5, 2008 10:29:17 GMT 7
lack of encores because of the crowd. nothing to do with equipment. Muzzle was meant to be the encore last night. Nonono don't mention that, man! While I try to forgot the above, i'll attempt to remember last night.... Porcelina, Nightmare, Tonite Tonite, Mayonaise, Tarantula, Stand Inside Your Love, Ava Adore, Drown, Today & Bullet all shattered my throat. The rest all encouraged a few more screams, but, (analogy time!); it was as if they rocked soo damn hard, cracks in the earth appeared & made their way toward me before the full impact of a monstrous onslaught of everything music should be about proceeding to resonate through me as I stood there in awe while feeling privileged to be able to listen to such a rare thing in todays music - a band going ballistic, doing what they love, just going hard core & attempting to deliver the definitive rock experience to their fans. & with the fans, I was lucky enough to be in a small pocket 2-3 rows back, just in front of Jeffry, where myself, Woody (thanks again for shoving me in front of your good self. We both know it was because you were getting sick of me screaming into your ear haha ) & a few others were appreciating every moment of it, whilst attempting to override the music with our soon-to-be disintegrated voice boxes. But with the good, there's always the bad - heard a constant whiner behind me who clearly didn't want to be there, this girl brought her sarcastic game to the show, with her condescending "yeah, well done" after Billys solo in US for example & repeatedly ripping out to her boyfriend (who was trying to stay positive) comments like "can you tell your mate in the front to put his hands down" 1 second after they went up. Clearly, the fact she was at a rock show had slipped her mind. I was so tempted to direct her to the nearest Opera venue, elderly home or friggin library so she could bask in that lame vibe she was after. The show was amazing though, & the sound, while not being as good as Adelaide, was still clear enough & better than what I expected. There were one or two times where things got muffled, but all was good apart from that. The moment Billy walked set me off. I looked around & noticed some people in shock, confused, not caring (sigh), but hardly anyone was making an effort to get them back out there. I was pissed sure, but the Billy needed a reason to come back, so off we went again, & our little pocket of energy did our best to get our message across that we wanted more dammit. ( remember thinking, as Billy mentioned in the Chicago Times; "I want my band back!). HUGE relief to see the band come back & finish off the show with such class & end up thanking the crowd despite it containing some unappreciative morons.
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Post by k on Apr 5, 2008 10:35:26 GMT 7
Breaking my lurkness just to say.. Billy is still incredible. Not that there was any doubt. I was near the rail on Ginger's side. Good show. Nice to see the new incarnation. Jesse too. As for why the lights came on.. I'd love to know?? I assume someone needed a break, or it was a crowd hype up thing. Didn't really look like a band tantrum from where I was standing, Billy didn't say anything about it, didn't seem sour afterwards.. When he came over at the end of the show.. Most Arrogant Man Of Rock? I don't think so. I'm looking forward to later on today. Have fun guys!
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milan
blissed + gone
Posts: 271
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Post by milan on Apr 5, 2008 10:48:31 GMT 7
Opening with Porcelina was incredible, it took me by surprise and is a perfect song to start it all off! Oh bloody oath. The slow build up was a perfect way to kick things off. Question: Did the lighting setup look like what they've been using on the rest of the tour? Nah, it was scaled down, comparing it to Adelaide anyway. I've got photos of the Adelaide light setup, but i've got to shrink down all my photos from both shows before I upload them all. Where's the best place for us to upload photos btw???
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Post by middleearthguy on Apr 5, 2008 10:48:41 GMT 7
great set here's a pic more to come later
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milan
blissed + gone
Posts: 271
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Post by milan on Apr 5, 2008 10:56:16 GMT 7
great set here's a pic more to come later Cool pic. Looks like Billys swallowed a light...heh. Here's a quick one from me...
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Post by ablankpage on Apr 5, 2008 11:01:37 GMT 7
I thought the crowd was really good. It's a bit much to expect people to sing along to every song - it's not as if many of the Pumpkins songs are exactly sing-along material. At any rate, I'd rather hear the BAND rather than myself or others singing along to the songs. Likewise, I don't like jumping around at shows, because I'd rather watch what's going on, looking at how the performers play their instruments and do what they do on stage. Most of the crowd seemed to sing along to 'Today', however, which is certainly one song that you can sing along to - that was one of the highlights of the night, I thought. '1979' was another where most of the crowd got into the sing-along mode. I don't think you can really have a go at the crowd for not singing along during Bullet With Butterfly WIngs - as someone has already pointed out, there wasn't really a defining point or cue for the crowd to start singing all as one - so what I heard was people all singing out of time with each other. All in all, it's not a reason to crack it about the crowd. Let's not have a "holier than thou" approach to being an audience member! IF the band's disappearance after 'My Blue Heaven' was Billy cracking it, then I'd agree that it was an over-reaction. It was annoying that there seemed to be a lot of talking during 'That's the Way (My Love Is)' and 'My Blue Heaven', but then again, Billy had chosen to play three or four quieter songs in a row, with less whole-band involvement - which maybe isn't such a good idea if Billy wants to avoid the crowd reacting in that manner. I guess it's a bit disappointing to suggest that perhaps the concentration span of audiences isn't up to hearing three or four laid-back songs in a row, but I guess that might just be the reality of it. Perhaps if the more laid-back songs were interspersed more throughout the set, there'd be a different reaction. The same could perhaps be said about the amount of back-to-back, cybermetal, stoner-rock, Sabbath-eque jam session rock outs that they have towards the end of the set - but that's just my opinion. At the end of the day, I'm happy with the way the setlist panned out, and I enjoyed every song, but then again, I'd consider myself to be a fairly hard-core Pumpkins fan. Anyway, I was near a few Ozphorians who were talking at various times during songs - no doubt they were expressing their enjoyment at the show - but perhaps that's what was happening with other people talking throughout the crowd as well. With that said, I'm not sure as to whether or not the band's disappearance after 'My Blue Heaven' was Billy cracking it or not. He did look a bit indifferent during 'My Blue Heaven', and the fact that he put his guitar down half-way through the song, and that Ginger was gearing up at the end of it, only to walk off, suggests that the walk-off was not planned. However, maybe there was some other reason for the walk-off, because I did feel that Billy's interaction with the crowd before the walk-off and his demeanor (smiling, etc.) afterwards, was really quite positive. It's a bit disappointing that they didn't play something after 'United States', but I assume that perhaps because they went off earlier in the night after 'My Blue Heaven', that perhaps they were running out of time or something. As it worked out, the songs that the band played after they came back on, worked out well as an encore in themselves. I suppose something like 'Cherub Rock' or 'Muzzle' might have been a bit more upbeat to finish on, than 'United States', however - that'd be my observation. I was really impressed with Jeff as a guitarist. He showed that he is a very talented player, and that he had a sound and style that suited the Pumpkins variety of songs. I thought he also worked with Corgan pretty well in contributing to the songs, and wasn't just there to add background fill. Lisa was good on the keys and vocals - she's pretty attractive too! Ginger seemed to be rocking out as well. So I reckon Billy and Jimmy have made some good choices with the band members - I hope they stick around for the long run. Jimmy was amazing on the drums - I sort of wished he would have got a shot at doing a drum solo at some point during a song like 'Superchrist', 'Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun' or 'United States', but then again, I guess the sort of rhythms that he's churning out in these songs through their entirety almost amount to drum solos! Where I was, I did feel that the drum sound did get a bit too big at times, and just became one large booming noise that drowned out the guitars a bit (during some of those songs that I mentioned). I think the booming noise was also contributed to by the amount of distortion and other combined effects of the guitars, that made it difficult to pick up the nuances of songs at various times - but mainly only during some of those massive jam sessions. A couple of times, I thought on Billy's solos that there wasn't enough gain, and you couldn't really hear the notes he was playing until he got higher up the fretboard (such as in 'Mayonaise' and 'Tarantula'). Not sure if that was just because of where I was standing, or because the band had built up such a sound that the solo just wouldn't cut through, or maybe Billy didn't select the right effects or wasn't standing close enough to the amps, etc. I did think though, that Billy's voice was as good as I have heard it. His ability to hold notes has improved a lot over the years, and he's got a good variety of vocal tones and sounds that he can generate over quite a variety of songs. I happened to get pretty close up the front, right near the barrier on Jeff's side. I actually should have been ON the barrier, but at the time when everyone stood up, this chick in a blue-striped top, who had been walking around up the front (when she shouldn't have been), pushed in and ended up staying in front of my for the entire show. A few people around commented on it (pretty sure they were Ozphorians). I didn't want to spoil her, or my night, by cracking it about it and having an argument - but it was pretty rude, to be honest. When a few people nearby told her she should move, she gave some lame excuse about "there's too many people in the way for me to get out"! I suppose it didn't affect my enjoyment of the show, but it was rude none-the-less, considering that I had been second in line at door 5, from about 3:00pm. HIghlights of the show for me were: * Today * Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun * 1979 * Drown * Crush With that said, whilst they were the highlights, the entire show was very entertaining, and there were a lot of other moments that I can recall distinctly and enjoy. I wouldn't mind having a recording of the set. I'd probably rate the show I saw in Melbourne in '98 as being better (mainly because there were more "intimate" moments during the songs that were pulled off better, with better contrasts between when the band was red-lining and when they pulled it back in, etc.), but I'd give the show an 8 out of 10, I reckon.
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Post by brendo on Apr 5, 2008 12:42:17 GMT 7
OH I JUST REMEMBERED.... FINALLLLLY the crowd did the whole "HEYS" during United States!!! i was sooooo happy! That was great. I was feeling very self-conscious in Adelaide being the only one doing it in my area. Everyone was getting right into it last night Yeah... last night I started out a loner, and then by the end of it everyone was doing it... I did think though, that Billy's voice was as good as I have heard it. His ability to hold notes has improved a lot over the years, and he's got a good variety of vocal tones and sounds that he can generate over quite a variety of songs. I was SO fucking pumped when there was T on "Time" in "Time is never time at all".
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bonno
cherub rocker
Posts: 87
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Post by bonno on Apr 5, 2008 12:46:21 GMT 7
nice photos of billy. has anyone got a video of set the controls? please upload! i am really curious to heat what it sounds like. cheers.
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Post by ablankpage on Apr 5, 2008 13:16:17 GMT 7
nice photos of billy. has anyone got a video of set the controls? please upload! i am really curious to heat what it sounds like. cheers. It sounds like Smashing Pumpkins covering a mystic Pink Floyd track and making it sound like the end of the world! Winding, angular, mystic, mind-bending and heavy. Stylistically, it's sort of like a cross between Superchrist and Glass and the Ghost Children, but probably heavier.
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Post by SPchick on Apr 5, 2008 13:36:10 GMT 7
I got video from this show, and Scott got video from Adelaide. Might have time to upload tonight, we'll see how it goes.
As for the walk off, we spoke to Billy today and he confirmed that it was due to a lack of crowd response.
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lamarr
cherub rocker
Hey that's my bike!
Posts: 54
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Post by lamarr on Apr 5, 2008 14:02:16 GMT 7
Wow I didn't know Jesse was touring with them! Did anyone get a photo of him on stage? That would have been really cool to see.
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Post by ablankpage on Apr 5, 2008 14:14:34 GMT 7
I think it's great that the band have Jesse on stage. I've got a sister who is intellectually disabled, and having grown up and experienced the absolute shite attitudes of a lot of people towards those with disabilities (or even towards the families of those with disabilities), I think it's really important to see those who are in the position of caring for or knowing those with disabilities show how those who have disabilities are people of worth.
What's more, it really goes against the grain of media appraisal of BIlly being an up-himself-arrogant-ego-maniac.
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bonno
cherub rocker
Posts: 87
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Post by bonno on Apr 5, 2008 14:24:04 GMT 7
nice photos of billy. has anyone got a video of set the controls? please upload! i am really curious to heat what it sounds like. cheers. It sounds like Smashing Pumpkins covering a mystic Pink Floyd track and making it sound like the end of the world! Winding, angular, mystic, mind-bending and heavy. Stylistically, it's sort of like a cross between Superchrist and Glass and the Ghost Children, but probably heavier. nice, you make it sound awesome! thanks SPChick, that would be great.
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Post by middleearthguy on Apr 5, 2008 14:36:15 GMT 7
I have a couple of mins of jesse playing too that ill try to upload after tonight
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Post by untitled2284 on Apr 5, 2008 14:52:26 GMT 7
I was stuck in the cage. We didn't sing because we didn't know when to start. Crowd on the floor beyond the first few rows did seem to suck in terms of audience response, but they still appeared to be attentive (which is a huge achievement considering the number of beer cups on the floor at the end). Would be very disappointed if the no Muzzle thing was actually related to Billy's opinion of the crowd. It was an awesome show which I wouldn't want to be spoiled by unprofessionalism. The reaction I got from everyone I spoke to was great show, but longer would have been nice
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Post by thatpumpkinschic on Apr 5, 2008 15:03:15 GMT 7
did i miss something? what did billy say about adelaide?
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wolfbite
zero
Please don't feed the animals
Posts: 113
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Post by wolfbite on Apr 5, 2008 16:01:43 GMT 7
I absolutely loved the show.
Was in the cheap seats (actually cost the same as GA) because I brought my wife along who is to short to be able to see anything from GA and it was rocking up there.
Loved that they played Perfect, we had that at our wedding so I was really hoping that they where going to play it.
I am wondering if anyone knows who it was walking around (including on stage) with what looked like a HD video camera and what is going on with that footage.
Was great when Jessie came out.
The only thing that I didn't like about the night was the fact that I couldn't see Jimmy apart from when he came out with the tamborine. Our view of him was blocked by the speakers beside Ginger.
Absolutely loved the night but did get a bit worried when the house lights came on that first time but felt pretty safe because the guy at the control panel on the stage didn't move an inch when it happened which gave me some indication that they where coming back out.
Funny note from the night: From where I was sitting the drink fridge in the bar on the opposite side of the stage was right behind Billy's head, it had a big Pepsi Logo on the side of it. It almost looked like the image from thepumpkins.net from April Fools Day.
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Post by Anahedonia on Apr 5, 2008 19:45:26 GMT 7
I am wondering if anyone knows who it was walking around (including on stage) with what looked like a HD video camera and what is going on with that footage. That was Kristin Burns their official photographer. As you probably saw she was just filming bits here and there, maybe it'll be used in some doco or special or something, but obviously they didn't shoot the whole show I was stuck on the back wall, it was packed and she had to squeeze past me 5 or 6 times (boy that sucked for me : , it was weird the way that she kept doing loops of the venue though So anyway... am i going blind, or has the melb v thread vanished?
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