E. M. Esq.

Saw the Smashing Pumpkins t’other night and… well now.

The first twenty minutes or so were amazing. As in, I was laughing like a fool and having trouble breathing because they were that god damn good. That opening stretch counts as possibly the best gig I’ve been to in its own right, so I didn’t really mind when they started playing the new songs. Too many of the new songs… ok, whatever, they’re not touring a greatest hits collection. But things really went off the rails with the half-hour noodlefest towards the end. No matter what Mars Volta fans might insist, standing in a cattle pen watching a band practice ain’t a good night out.

I have to repeat though, lest this get too negative, that what dodginess there was merely brought the average down to immensely good night. I was disappointed solely because they set the bar so very, very high with the first few songs.

I also saw Queens of the Stone Age in the Ambassador last week, which was a hoot and a half. No… two hoots. It’s always stuck in my craw that I missed them in the Big (Quite Small?) A in 2002 , so it was good to get another shot at that. Not much else to add, seeing as they didn’t trample on my dreams (aw Billy, I’m just foolin’ with you), except to say that Josh Homme is the man. Science has proven it.

Now for Dillinger on Saturday, We Are Scientists in April, and hopefully Saul Williams and Elbow at some point too. Things are shaping up quite nicely indeed.

(Unrelated: this is fantastic.)