The Smashing Pumpkins 1994-04-17

April 17, 1994 – Buffalo, NY, US
Live performance by The Smashing Pumpkins
Rock Invasion tour
Date	April 17, 1994
Venue	Buffalo State Sports Arena
Coordinates	42°56′5″N 78°53′11″W
Location	Buffalo, NY, US
Venue type	Concert hall
Capacity	3,500
Personnel	Billy Corgan, James Iha, D'arcy Wretzky, Jimmy Chamberlin, Kerry Brown
Order of bands	Red Red Meat, The Smashing Pumpkins
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Setlist

1. "Soma" 
2. "Rocket" 
3. "Geek U.S.A." (abandoned) 
4. "Geek U.S.A." 
5. "Disarm" 
6. "Snail" 
7. "Quiet" 
8. "Cherub Rock" 
9. "Drown" (abandoned) 
10. "Drown" (abandoned) 
11. "Drown" [4:42] 
12. "Hummer" [5:42] 
13. "Today" 
14. "I Am One" (with rant) [8:01] 
    1. "Today" (tease) 

Encore one

15. "Silverfuck" [9:44] 
1. "Over the Rainbow" [Harold Arlen / Yip Harburg] (tease) 

Encore two

16. "Mayonaise" (abandoned) 
17. "Mayonaise" 

Encore three

18. "Siva" [5:24] 
1. "The Star-Spangled Banner" [Francis Scott Key] (tease) 
19. "Spaceboy" 
20. "Starla" [9:42] 
21. "Stay with Me" [Faces] (tease) (only performance)
22. "Sweet Sweet" (abandoned) 
23. "Sweet Sweet" (abandoned) 
24. "Sweet Sweet" 
25. "Stay with Me" [Faces] (tease) (only performance)
26. "Today" (tease) 
27. "Siva" (tease) 
28. "Country Death Song" [Violent Femmes] (tease) 

Encore four

29. "Stay with Me" [Faces] (tease) (only performance)
30. "Hello Kitty Kat" 
31. "Happy Birthday" [Patty Hill / Mildred J. Hill] (tease) 
32. "Happy Birthday" [Altered Images] (tease) 
33. "Rhinoceros" 
34. "Stay with Me" [Faces] (tease) (only performance)
35. "Girl Named Sandoz" [The Animals] (tease) 
36. "Happy Birthday" [Altered Images] (tease) 
37. "Bury Me" 
38. "Stay with Me" [Faces] (only performance)

Notes

• "Rhinoceros" is played by request
• "Bury Me" and the closing "Stay With Me" with Kerry Brown
• First known public performance of "Hello Kitty Kat" since March 15, 1993
• Only known performance with four encores aside from December 2, 2000

Banter

BC: Welcome to the show. Hope you have a good time. Don't kill nobody. We'd like to begin this evening with a beautiful selection. (crowd reacts and boos)
Iha: Well, we're starting off on a good foot: (laughing) a lighter thrown.
BC: Well, thanks for the gum anyway.
Iha: Please, no more large objects being thrown at us.
BC: Just -- just keep in mind that we are human beings, that when we get hit by objects, it does actually hurt. And we can tend to get angry and abusive.
Iha: Thank you, [unintelligible word].
BC: So we'd like to begin this, uhh, evening with a beautiful selection...written by uh, yours truly and Mr. James Iha. And it goes something kinda like this.
Soma
> Rocket
BC: We have a technical problem. Hi!
Geek U.S.A. (abandoned - Jimmy starts drums but stops after 6 seconds)
BC: We have a technical problem.
Geek U.S.A.
(BC alt last line: I fuckin’ love the U.S.A.)
BC: So that uhhh, that was called Geek U.S.A. As featured on our album, Siamese Dream, uh...which came out about 200 years ago. We did make it to Buffalo, I guess. Since our album has come out, we have been to Europe three times, Australia, Japan and this is our second tour of America, so we didn't forget about you.
Iha: We, uh, just didn't want to come here.
BC: He's so mean. He loves Buffalo.
(Billy starts Disarm)
Iha: I like buffalo wings.
Disarm
BC: Thank you, thank you. I wrote that song when I was about eight years old. Here's a song I wrote when I was six. And it's on our first album called Fish.
Iha: It’s called Baby Talk.
BC: It's called I Want Some Twinkies.
Snail
Quiet
BC: Um...ah, I'll save that for later.
D’arcy: Does it sound like music in this echoing hall at all? (crowd cheers)
Cherub Rock
BC: Hey, turn on the lights for a second. How are all you people up there? Those -– those are where all the people go who are scared to come down here. But then again, those people up there actually get to see the show and actually listen to the music, so um...as opposed to getting hit in the head and all that shit. But thanks anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for coming. We're uh, we're usually pretty wary of playing universities because often time, uh, the universities tend to uh, have people who don't know the band's music and the shows could be kind of lame and...but....
Iha: Again, we're gonna to have to end the show early, it's been great, but we gotta go.
BC: He's so mean!
Iha: See what I did? I gotta towel off my shirt.
BC: We sincerely thank you for coming and uh...that's all. [tape cut] ...uh, flap because uh, the African American Coalition or something didn't want us to play because we weren't considered -- we were considered white entertainment or something, I don’t know. All I have to say is - all I have to say is I like to think that music goes beyond black and white, obviously. I'm uh, I'm a Irish-Italian male, D'arcy is a Russian female, James obviously is a Japanese--
Iha: Eskimo.
BC: Eskimo.
Iha: Well, isn’t it hot now--
BC: And Jimmy's from another planet and uh.... I just hope that -- the one message I would like to deliver under these kind of circumstances because I hate to see anybody upset about anything, but you can't fight racism with racism and that's that.
Iha: And we're very sorry about the Buffalo Bills. Four times they...I don't know what to say, you know? Where we come from, we got Ditka, you know what I'm saying?
BC: James, Ditka doesn't coach the Bears anymore.
Drown (abandoned after a few notes when Iha keeps talking)
Iha: But he's still there in spirit.
BC: Stop! We can't stop the joke telling.
Drown (abandoned after a few notes when Iha keeps talking)
Iha: Let's have a sea of hands for Mike Ditka. Can we have it? (crowd boos)
BC: So this is a song I wrote when I was a boy, it's called Drown.
Drown
> Hummer
Today
> I Am One / Today
(BC midsong: All I ever wanted was everything. All I ever wanted was everything. All I ever wanted was everything and all I got was shit! What you want is what you'll get and that's nothing. What you want is what you'll get and that's nothing. Nothing can be taken from me that has not already been taken. Ohhh. Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme nothing! Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme nothing. Gimme gimme gimme (trails off into gibberish) nothing. Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme nothing! I got the blues! (Iha solos) Mr. James Iha on the blues guitar. (Iha stops) Wow, that was beautiful. All right, cut it out. (band stops) This is uh, normally the point in the song where I scream a bunch of angry things but I'm not feeling so angry today, so.... All I'm going to tell you is love yourself first and then try to figure out how to love other people after that. That's about as angry as I'm gonna be today. (Iha plays the opening to Today) You fucker.
Iha: Heh heh.
BC: Does anybody even know this song? Who knows this song that we're playing right now? That's it, huh?
Iha: How many people think this is Paradise City? Alright.
BC: Thank you very much. Well, for those of you who don't know, this is the first song on our first album, it's called I Am One. And it was the first Smashing Pumpkins song that ever came out. And the whole song is about, “what have you got when you've got nothing?” You've got nothing but you, that's what you got. As long as your eyes are still blinking and your heart’s still beating and your tongue is still waggin' and your stomach's still growlin' and your feet still movin', then you've got you. So...that's about as angry as I can be today. I know you came for this anger but it's just not there today. (band goes back into end of song))
BC: Goodnight, Buffalo.
[encore break]
Iha: Aw yeah, motherfuckin' beatbox in the house! (beatboxes) Yeah, Buffalo! (beatboxes) Yeah, Buffalo! Four times! (tape intro to Silverfuck begins) (beatboxes) I'm sorry.
BC: This is from the dollar bin.
Silverfuck / Over the Rainbow
[encore break]
Iha: That was pretty dope.
BC: Thanks, James.
Iha: Yeah, heh heh. I'd like to tell a story about this little guitar. Now, once a long time ago....
Mayonaise (abandoned after 3 notes)
Mayonaise
BC: God bless you, thank you.
[encore break]
Iha: (radio voice) Ladies and gentlemen of Buffalo, you're devastating. (normal voice) That's what some uh, dive bar radio station told me.
BC: Hey, but...wait a second. Have some people left? (crowd boos) Have some people left? It looks like some people left. Well, if you know anybody who left, tell ‘em I said fuck off.
Iha: Well, I think uh, on the back of the concert ticket stub, there’s like half off to go to Niagara Falls or something, so that's where they...they must've went there. Oh, it's free?! I paid 50 dollars, this guy gave me a Niagara Falls ticket and said it's a bargain, did I get ripped off?
BC: Along the north, [3-4 unintelligible words]. Just so you know, we don't do a lot of third encores, uh.... Because uh, quite frankly, um, wait, wait--
Iha: Quite frankly, Mr. Shankley.
BC: Heh heh. Quite frankly, we don't like most of the people we play in front of, so um...so, you win the special silver star for this evening.
Iha: And now, we will rock.
BC: So sit back...uh...fondle yourself and enjoy...[2-3 unintelligible words] of Smashing Pumpkins fix.
Jimmy: Heh heh heh heh!
Iha: Great! That sounds fucking great! I can't take it anymore! How's that rheumatism?
BC: I only might had the pick. James, why don't you start it for a change?
Siva / Star Spangled Banner
Iha: Alright alright alright!
Spaceboy
(Starla intro begins)
BC: This is called Starla.
> Starla
> Stay With Me (tease)
BC: Hey! Come back. Come on. Come on. No, you, you. Do one more song.
Iha: I want to play--
BC: You wanted to stay? I’m sorry I made you stay.
Iha: I wanna play Stay With Me, not this song.
Stay With Me (tease)
BC: (singing) Stay with me.... (Iha joins in on guitar) Stay with me ‘cause tonight you’re gonna stay with me. Stay with me, stay with me, ‘cause tonight you’re gonna stay with me.
Iha: (high pitched screaming) Alright, I want a motherfuckin’ beat! Stay with me! Stay with me ‘cause tonight you’re gonna be a bee! You like that? (normal voice) [2-3 unintelligible words]. (high pitched screaming) Stay with me! Who my funky...woman...you gonna be Humpty, take it Mr. Billy Corgan!.
BC: No way. Well, that’s a really good groove, did you write that? It’s wow. Would someone like the bee? I think that guy right there should have the bee. That guy right there, right there. Yeah. Alright, stop playing the motherfucking song! (Iha stops guitar) Don't you want to end the night on a sentimental sweet note? [tape cut] Heh heh heh heh!
Iha: Dat’s right, heh. (laughing) Big Jim -- Big Jim.
BC: Heh heh.
Iha: He's wild.
BC: So uh, like to play you one more song.
Sweet Sweet (with Iha, abandoned midway through second line, Billy started the song singing too high)
BC: Yeah, no, I'll just sing it a cappella. Come on, you'll sing with me.
Iha: (stammering) No, I’ll, I’ll just listen--
BC: Alright. Ready?
Sweet Sweet (with Iha, abandoned midway through first line, Billy started the song singing off key)
Iha: Do you need a G, brother?
Sweet Sweet (Billy accompanied by Iha on guitar)
BC: God bless you, thank you.
> Stay with Me (tease - Iha goes back into guitar part and Billy joins in briefly)
Iha: (high pitched) Yeah! Kick that damn beat! Come on, gimme some fuckin' rhythm! Gimme some fuckin' rhythm! Clap your fucking hands! Come on! [unintelligible] in Buffalo. (normal voice) I can't think of any more jokes, goodnight. (stops playing guitar) Long live Rod Stewart.
Stay with Me (tease - Iha starts playing a few chords at a time)
Today (tease - first 9 notes)
> Siva (tease - first few chords)
Country Death Song (tease)
[encore break]
BC: Thank you all so much. Are you tired? He's tired! Mr. Security Man, he's tired.
Iha: Yeah, I was walking [unintelligible word] Mall all day, I'm really tired. Or...whatever that mall is. Granite –- the.... What? (guitar feedback) Galleria.
(feedback and doodling continues for 15 seconds)
BC: Thank you. So what do you want to hear?
(crowd yelling)
Iha: “Play Today again, would you?”
BC: You wanna hear Pearl Jam? (crowd boos) Aw, nah nah nah, no booing.
Iha: Yeah, we called them up, you know they used to open up for us, we called them up the other day to have ‘em open for us, I think their necks are too big, they said no way. What do you fuckin' think of that? Buncha jerks.
BC: Well, that'll end up in Rolling Stone. Anyway, uh...does anyone have any of our B-sides? You have one? Alright, this is like the only uh -– like, we haven't played this song in about six months, so uh.... (crowd cheering) But you don't know what song it is, why are you yelling, it could be a song you don't like.
Iha: “Wooo! I love that one! It's so good.”
BC: This is a song that we were gonna put on Siamese Dream, but in the end we thought it didn't sound good enough, so I hope you like it, it's still kind of enjoyable in its own little way...but uh.... You sure you want us to play more? I don't wanna...you know, I don't wanna like force our egos over on you.
Stay With Me (tease - 3 notes)
BC: (singing) Hold on to your ego. (speaking) So this is a song called uh, Hello Kitty Kat, and then -– and then uh, then when we get done playing that, then you can figure out what you want us to play next, so....
Hello Kitty Kat
BC: That was really loud, sorry. Rhinoceros, you wanted to hear Rhinoceros? I -– honestly, who out there even knows what that song is now? We've pretty much played all the Siamese Dream songs, so uh...oh, I know we haven't played one Siamese Dream song. Now -- now those of you who ha -- who know Rhinoceros, do you know it –- do you know it since Siamese Dream came out or before?
Crowd: Before!
BC: Ohhhh, okay, okay then. I feel somewhat obligated. Well, for those of you who don't know this song, it's uh, it's a really nice song I wrote in my bedroom one day.
Iha: Yeah yeah yeah, just play it.
BC: What, can't I give a little history? (crowd cheers)
Iha: Shhhhh.
BC: Obviously, you people have nothing better to do.
Iha: [unintelligible].
BC: Just kidding, like study and shit.
Iha: Last night--
BC: See, James dropped out of college and did you graduate? Jimmy -- Jimmy dropped out of college.
Iha: The school of life.
BC: I don't think me and D'arcy went to college, so we're not very prime examples of schooling.
Iha: Yeah, I read Beowulf. Lay off.
BC: So anyway uh, for those of you who don't know, this is uh.... I don't know, man, I suddenly feel like we shouldn't even play another one. (crowd cheers) Okay, alright, I want to apologize for playing, um, I guess that's why you're here, I know that's hard for you to understand but it's hard for me to understand. So anyway, this is a song I wrote in my uh...in my bedroom. Um, this a note, "please play Happy Birthday for Liz Lyons who is sixteen today." Where are you, Liz? There's Liz up there. She's very embarrassed. We don't really know Happy Birthday.
Happy Birthday (Hill/Hill/Coleman version) (tease - Billy makes it most of the way through on guitar (poorly))
BC: Happy birthday.
Happy Birthday (Altered Images version) (tease)
Iha: (sings high pitched) Happy birthday, happy birthday. (normal voice) I know the Altered Images ver -- song. (sings high pitched) Happy birthday, happy birthday.
BC: Heh heh, I’m sure -– I'm sure you do, New Wave James.
Iha: (sings high pitched) Happy birthday, happy birthday.
BC: So, this is uh...
Iha: (sings high pitched) Happy birthday.
BC: ...Rhino Ceros.
Rhinoceros
Iha: Thanks.
BC: I- – I feel like we've overstayed our welcome but uh, we'd like to play one more please.
Stay with Me (tease - a few seconds from Iha)
BC: (laughing) No, don't start that shit. Alright, alright, we'll take a vote, okay? This is -- this is the...on, this is the way we, uh, we used to do it when we were a small band, uh...
Iha: No, no, no.
BC: I ain't gonna play Freebird, my friend. Okay, so...obviously there's two types of Pumpkins songs, there's loud songs and quiet songs, so...so uh, hold on, hold on, hold on. So those of you who'd like to hear a loud song, say yes. (crowd cheers) And those of you who'd like to hear a quiet song, say yes. (crowd cheers) Heh! Boy, you're a bunch of rockers, huh? Alright, what rock song would you like to hear? I hear Tristessa, Bury Me, what else? We don't know how to play Sandoz anymore, sorry. Bye June is not a heavy song, we're very sorry.
Girl Named Sandoz (tease - a bit of the riff)
BC: That's all I remember. (laughing) Got any ideas? We'll let Kerry -- we'll let Kerry pick, come out, come out Kerry. Kerry is uh, D'arcy's fiance.
Iha: He's also a gardener and he's just won a new car, come on out!
BC: I'm going to be uh, best man at uh, Kerry and D'arcy's wedding.
Iha: He’s a [unintelligible 2 words], Kerry [unintelligible 1-2 words].
Kerry Brown: Kerry with Bury Me.
BC: What would you like to hear, Kerry?
Kerry Brown: We'd like to hear Bury Me.
Iha: And uh, my mic [unintelligible].
BC: [unintelligible word], Kerry has requested Bury Me, so um, this will be our last selection for the evening, we'd like to thank you very much again. (Iha tries to start intro feedback) We uh, hold on, hold on. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts, uh, really, and uh, we appreciate -- we appreciate.... I'm sorry to talk so much, but we appreciate your respect because often times when we go to play a college, uh, a lot of frat type people throw shoes at our heads and uh, they only know two songs and, you know, all that kind of crap, so we thank you for being a very respectful audience.
Happy Birthday (tease - a bit of guitar) (Altered Images version)
BC: And then these gentlemen can go home. This man's tired. Look, he's gotta lean on the stage 'cause he's so tired...taking people out of the crowd. Heh, alright, yeah, Bury Me, I'm sorry, thank you.
Bury Me
BC: Thank you very much.
D’arcy: Thank you, gute nacht.
Iha: Goodnight! Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite.
BC: I think we should get Jimmy up here. Hey, Jimmy! Jimmy never gets to come up front in the special area.
Stay with Me (tease - Iha is doodling with the riff)
Jimmy: Thank you very much.
Iha: Thank you, Jimmy. Let's put our hands in the air, feel good. That jerk. Fucking...!
Stay with Me
Iha: (high pitched singing) Stay with me.
BC: All right, you gotta sing though, James.
Iha: (singing) Stay with me, stay with me, tonight you’d better stay with me. Stay with me, stay with me, tonight you’re gonna stay with me. (speaking, deep voice) Yeah.
BC: (singing) My perfume’s smelling sweeter and I kicked you right in the face out the door.
Iha: Yeah.
BC: (singing) And I know your name is Rita but your perfume’s smelling sweeter and something (trails off laughing).
Iha: Yeah!
BC: (laughing) This guy just wants to go home, man. (Iha beatboxes over next sentence) (singing) Stay with me, stay with me, tonight you’re gonna stay with me. (Iha barking like a dog over most of next sentence, then beatboxing again) Stay with me, stay with me, tonight you’re gonna stay with me. (speaking) Come on!
Iha: Look out! Damn, checkin’ my AK, down on the motherfuckin’ street, you fuckin’ piece of motherfuckin’ fuckin’ shit! Fuck yeah, you add a fuckin’ pin to that! Fuck yeah! Fuck yeah! Fuck you and your fuckin’ piece of fucking shit! Fuck yeah! Come on, yeah! Aw yeah! I’m fucking kickin’ with my G, yeaaahh!! Yeah! Say ho! Everyone say ho in the motherfuckin’ house! Yeah!! (Billy begins singing chorus again) We got love for the house. Yeah!! Come on! I said hey! Ho, yeah! Keepin’ that dope rhyme funky ass shit! Come on! Yeah, come on, everybody, up on your fuckin’ feet, I can’t fuckin’ hear you! Fuckin’ yeah, yeah! [unintelligible]! Ho! Come on! Fuckin’ yeah! Ho! Hey! Ho! Hey! Ho! Let’s rap! Yeah, hey! Ho! Hey! Ho! Fuck yeah! (Billy begins soloing) Let me hear you say yeah in the motherfuckin’ house! Come on, kick it! Yeah! Fuckin’ play that bullshit, man! Fuck yeah! Come on! [unintelligible]! Ho, that’s a yeah! (band goes into big finish) [unintelligible] funky to the motherfuckin’ house, come on, come on! (band finishes) Fuckin’ one more time, come on, kick out that dope jam! (Iha starts playing guitar and rest of band joins back in) Fuck yeah! Let me see you kids say yeah! Yeah! Come on, come on with me! Fuck yeah! Put that dope beat in the fuckin’ air! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah, bring it on!!!! Come on! Come on! Come on! Come on! [unintelligible]! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Fuck yeah! Fuck yeah! Fuck yeah! ... (band starts to wrap up again) Fuck yeah, everybody and their Buffalo pride. We’ll see you later. Yeah! Yeah!)
[tape cuts]