So how does one prepare to see his favorite band in their hometown. Simple. You listen to their entire catalog of releases, which spans over twenty years. Okay. There was that period where they "broke up", so maybe it's not twenty years exactly. But still that means over forty releases. And it's only appropriate to listen to the catalog in the order that it was released. So for the next ten days my internet browser will constantly have a tab with http://www.spfc.org/songs-releases/discog.html
So I'm going to start today, October 4. Coincidentally it was four years ago that I first saw The Pumpkins. It was a good show in Bracken Auditorium at the University of Illinois. However I was in the last row. And it was the Zeitgeist tour. And Zeitgeist is my least favorite SP album.
In a little more than a week, I'll be in the city by the lake in front of the mighty SP with the three wonderful dudes that play music with me. It's going to be LEGEN...(wait for it)...DARY! I hate how wonderful moments pass us by and sometimes we aren't able to appreciate those moments to their fullest. So for me, I'm going to prepare like a true fanatic and then be able to appreciate the concert as much as possible. I'm putting myself on a strict music diet of Smashing Pumpkin pie.
To set some ground rules for myself, I'm only sticking to original releases by the band. No bootlegs. No fan-made live recordings. Just the releases that the band has put out. I'll allow myself to skip duplicate songs that are the same mix. Every released song has to be listened to in its entirety. Even Pistachio Medley.
Today. The first day. We're starting by going back to 1988 with Nothing Ever Changes, when The Smashing Pumpkins consisted of 21 year old Billy Corgan, James Iha (remember that guy?), and a drum machine/Ron Roesing (who played with Billy in The Marked and was technically the first SP Drummer). After that we have the Moon Demo and the self titled Smashing Pumpkins tape, which were released in 1989.
Highlights: Mark Ignoffo's organ solo on "Rhinoceros" on the Moon Demo. And of course "Spiteface"!
I'll try to post here everyday. Or at least tweet my endeavors on twitter http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif">
