SPILL LIVE REVIEW: THE SMASHING PUMPKINS w/ INTERPOL & RIVAL SONS @ BUDWEISER STAGE, TORONTO

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS w/ INTERPOL & RIVAL SONS

@ BUDWEISER STAGE, TORONTO

SEPTEMBER 2, 2023

Approaching the end of their summer dates, The Smashing Pumpkins brought The World Is A Vampire Tour to Toronto’s Budweiser Stage on September 2, along with support from Interpol and Rival Sons. The show was a celebration for the alternative rock veterans, having released ATUM earlier this year, an ambitious three-part rock opera.

RIVAL SONS

Opening the night was Rival Sons. Hot off the release of Darkfighter earlier this year, and with their companion record, Lightbringer dropping on October 20, Rival Sons are among the most exciting rock bands to emerge from the last decade. Their performance kicked off with an ambient jam that bled into “Feral Roots”. Few rock bands could pull off a lengthy instrumental passage to open a show, much less one with a rootsy soundscape, while leaving the audience captivated with suspense, a feeling bubbling over until the song truly kicked off. Their performance was a revival of an era of rock long gone, yet remained distinctly modern, something, again, that few bands can deliver on. Scott Holiday’s guitars, supported by a pair of Fender and a pair of Orange cabs, sounded larger than life, while Mike Miley’s drums grooved effortlessly but shined for their massive fills. Singer Jay Buchanan was simply stunning; equal parts Robert Plant and James Brown, he strutted across the stage in a pink vest and dress pants with a soaring, scorching voice that was highly emotive. Rival Sons made the most of their brief set truly leaving it all on the stage. This is a band that continues to raise the bar, as musicians, songwriters, and performers for rock music. Rival Sons is, without a doubt, setting the pace for rock ‘n’ roll in the 2020’s.

INTERPOL

Sitting somewhere between REM, Pearl Jam, and U2, Interpol are post punk legends, a cult classic that has found a timeless sound. Led by vocalist Paul Banks, their set was a subdued affair, one which brought little live energy to the stage, but sounded immaculate. Their perfectly balanced sound was refreshing. Opening with “Toni” and closing with “Slow Hands”, Interpol’s set also included “My Desire”, “Evil”, “C’mere” and “PDA”. Being fairly confident that I had never heard an Interpol song until last night, the band proved that, with such a degree of high fidelity sometimes all you need is a smoke machine and an impressive lightshow to make a strong impression.

The semi-reunited Smashing Pumpkins, consisting of founding members Billy Corgan, James Iha, and Jimmy Chamberlin, along with guitarist Jeff Schroeder and touring bassist Jack Bates and backing vocalist Katie Cole, took the stage to a sold-out audience. Opening with an absolutely heavy onslaught of “The Everlasting Gaze”, “Doomsday Clock” and a cover of the Talking Heads “Once In A Lifetime” the band sounded huge, sporting their impressively impenetrable signature wall of distortion. While these songs were plagued by a hollow, poorly balanced sound, this was largely resolved by the time they hit “Today”. Unfortunately, their heavier tracks would continue to be affected by a poor mix, often better than the opening songs, but not as clear of a sound as one would hope. Despite this, the band put on an incredible performance with Corgan’s vocals perfectly replicating those on the record along with additional visceral screams. While songs like “Disarm”, “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”, “Hummer”, and “1979” were definite highlights, their new material, including “Empires”, “Spellbinding”, and “Beguiled”, fit within their set seamlessly. Of their near two-hour performance, two moments stand out in particular. The first was a soulful performance of “Tonight, Tonight” featuring just Corgan and Iha on a pair of acoustic guitars. The latter was the back-to-back closer of “Cherub Rock” and “Zero”, making for an iconic and incendiary conclusion to the night; a true two punch knockout to close the night.

It is a rare and truly special occurrence to see an opening band outshine the rest of the bill, particularly such a stacked lineup; however, this was the case with Rival Sons. This is by no means any slight against either Interpol or The Smashing Pumpkins, but rather should be taken as the highest of praise for the phenomenal musicianship and live performance from Rival Sons. That being said, The Pumpkins are legends, and, despite their poor sound quality, their performance was worthy of their status as a band over 30 years deep into their career. If anything is certain from their set at Toronto’s Budweiser Stage, it is that there are moments of true greatness on ATUM that can stand strong beside their most classic hits.

Smashing Pumpkins Links

Interpol Links

Rival Sons Links