Wolfmother (opening for Smashing Pumpkins)

As I mentioned I also got this one. Wolfmother suffered the normal opening band fate of polite interest. It didn't help that the 'banter' was painfully awkward. That's a pity really because, while there nu-Led Zeppelin schtick is never going to take them far, the new songs they played actually suggest this new version of the band might be able to make the most of that. On the other hand, songs like Love Train are closer to Spinal Tap than Led Zeppelin. Hopefully they get the balance right on the new album.

White Feather
California Queen
Love Train
Keep Moving
Woman
Long Way to Go
Dimension
Joker and the Thief

http://www.mediafire.com/?dmi5ltd16cjeu

Smashing Pumpkins - 2 August 2012, HiSense Arena

Various recordings of this show have already been released, so I assume most people who want this already have it. Nonetheless, I figure I might as well put it out there since I recorded it (I also recorded Wolfmother’s opening set, which doesn’t seem to have been released by whoever recorded the main set).

This show was a real example of the power of expectations. I’d checked out some of the setlists from earlier in the tour, so I knew that they were going to open with the entirety of the new album. I’d also heard the various stories about what a complete tool Billy Corgan can be (a friend who saw them last tour told me that the encore of the show he went to consisted of Corgan demanding the crowd sing him happy birthday; and then do it again; and then left). So my expectations were pretty low.

As expected the show started with the Oceania album. Some reviews I read said the crowd were pretty restless, but where I was people were surprisingly respectful (not enthusiastic though). That could be because the Oceania album is actually pretty decent. It won’t go down as a highpoint of his career, and the show would have been better if he’d played less of it, but it isn’t a complete dud either. Having said that, the biggest cheer of the night was probably when the crowd realised he was playing Space Oddity, meaning Oceania was done.

From that point the crowd were much more enthusiastic as he churned through the hits (with a two rarities thrown in for the diehards). I mainly went to this because I figured Billy Corgan is someone I should see once (this is not the Smashing Pumpkins), but the show was actually better than that.

Quasar
Panopticon
The Celestials
Violet Rays
My Love is Winter
One Diamond, One Heart
Pinwheels
Oceania
Pale Horse
The Chimmera
Glissandra
Inkless
Wildflower
Space Oddity
XYU
Disarm
Tonight, Tonight
Bullet with Butterfly Wings
Soot and Stars
Luna
Today

Zero
Ava Adore
Cherub Rock

http://www.mediafire.com/?k2w7n2ktcuxgb