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Reconfigured Pumpkins Smash Doubters' Expectations

Tribune photo by JAY NOLAN

Billy Corgan and Smashing Pumpkins made a strong argument for their reunion Wednesday night at Ruth Eckerd Hall.

By CURTIS ROSS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 20, 2008

CLEARWATER - Last year's "Zeitgeist" album – turgid, bleak and monochromatic – was a none too promising proclamation of Smashing Pumpkins' return.

So imagine the shock of hearing that album's lengthy nadir – "United States" – turned into a feral beast, with head Pumpkin Billy Corgan and new guitarist Jeff Schroeder coaxing walls of feedback from their instruments as drummer Jimmy Chamberlin kept the beat roiling just under the surface.

Time to rethink "Zeitgeist"? Maybe later. Better in the moment to surrender to the sheer force of the music, which would have given the area's hurricane junkies the fix Fay denied them.

Wednesday's concert, before a sold-out Ruth Eckerd Hall crowd of 2,039, was one to put the doubters (including this one) on notice. The Pumpkins are back.

It certainly looked enough like the Pumpkins, with compact, dark-haired Schroeder to Corgan's left in James Iha's place and colorfully-frocked bassist Ginger Reyes to his right where once paler-than-pale D'Arcy stood.

Corgan's sartorial statement was a quilted skirt, calf-length skirt. Whatever his intention, the outfit, combined with his lanky frame, was less David Bowie and more Zippy the Pinhead.

And there were a few numbers from the Pumpkins' golden age. "Tonight, Tonight," retained its grand feel in the less ornate live setting. "Mayonnaise" is a personal Pumpkins' favorite and, with an equally awe-inspiring "Siva," brought back memories of the band's initial impact in the early '90s.

Reyes and a keyboardist introduced as Miss Lisa added fetching harmonies to "G.L.O.W." "Transformer" was stripped-down garage rock, a rarity from a band that treasures the epic.

The show ended somewhat anti-climactically with a remake of Mungo Jerry's "In the Summertime," featuring prominent kazoo, and Corgan bringing his father on stage to sing a blues tune.

Curtis Ross can be reached at (813) 259-7568 or cross@tampatrib.com