Billy Corgan tweets, "The safety of our fans is ALWAYS a huge priority. With 24 long hours delay our 1st Manila show will be at same arena, same time tomorrow!!"
Here's the official statement from the concert promoter:
"The Smashing Pumpkins would like to inform all our fans that due to the adverse weather and unforseen events beyond our control, we are left with no other recourse but to move our show to tomorrow, August 8, 2012. Same venue.
All tickets will be honored tomorrow. We thank you all for your understanding and support."
The brand-new Smashing Pumpkins is composed of original founder Corgan supported by fresh recruits: guitarist Jeff Schroeder, drummer Mike Byrne and bassist Nicole Fiorentino. The concert will feature multimedia effects adopting the same technology used in the recent staging of Pink Floyd’s “The Wall.”
Billy tweets from Manila
On August 6, vocalist Billy Corgan tweeted, “Manila with one L could you stop raining so I can go outside. So excited to be here for the first time. Press conference later today!”
In fact, only Corgan was present at the press con.
Despite having new members in the band, Billy expressed confidence that the new Smashing Pumpkins can cut it just like its former incarnations that produced classic albums “Gish” and “Siamese Dream.”
“They were fans of the band so they have their own personal experiences in terms of what Smashing Pumpkins means to a fan,” he said of the new members. “They saw the band during the ‘Siamese Dream’ and ‘Mellon Collie’ years and they remember how it was to see that band flying at its peak.”
Emotionally charged show
Corgan promised an emotionally charged Manila show.
He is playing “Ocerania” in full because he feels every track is as valuable as any other.
“I’m proud to say that on ‘Oceania,’ I feel we’ve cut our own path forward,” he told the Manila press. “Jeff, Mike and Nicole have made significant contributions to the tone and texture of ‘Oceania,’ which is an album that is unlike any I’ve ever made.”
“Oceania” is the first installment of Billy Cogan’s 44-song “‘Teargarden By Kaleidyscope,” based on the four phases of “The Fool’s Journey” version of the tarot. Critics describe “Oceania” to be the band’s most compelling album since “Machina,” consolidating on the best parts of previous works and pointing to new musical directions beyond grunge.
Corgan’s personal favorites off the album are “Pale Horse” and the title track. (His all-time best Smashing Pumpkins song is “Tonight, Tonight” because it never fails to generate “a beautiful response every night.”)
New generation of fans
Billy Corgan admitted he listens to Bach and Beethoven these days. Still, he appreciated that a number of ‘90s alternative bands have reformed to face a new generation of music fans.
He elaborated, “Some bands come back to relive the experience and to get back to that special place where they once made great music. What they forget is that this is the time for a 15-year-old or 20-year old. So bands from another generation have to make great music for 2012. I think, ‘Oceania’ is an album for this time.”
Grew up with Pinoys
Filipinos have a special place in Corgan’s heart. He remembered, “I grew up around a lot of Filipinos in the outskirts of Chicago. Some of my best friends in school are Filipinos. Some of my best friends now are Filipinos.
“I have great respect for Filipino family values. I learned a lot from your culture and it means something to me.”
The Smashing Pumpkins should have played in Manila a long time ago but now may be the best time as any for the band to sell the drama behind their music. Corgan mused, “The band now is fully connected. I believe each of us upholds the same musical values I’ve always pushed with the Pumpkins be they progressive, emotional, grand or restless.”
So it may be worth braving the rains to get to see Billy and company play some epic rock & roll.
Tony Maghirang | Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom
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