The Smashing Pumpkins 1995-10-23

October 23, 1995 – Chicago, IL, US
Live performance by The Smashing Pumpkins
Artist	The Smashing Pumpkins
Date	October 23, 1995
Venue	Riviera Theater
Coordinates	41°58′7″N 87°39′36″W
Location	Chicago, IL, US
Venue type	Theater
Capacity	2,300
Personnel	Billy Corgan, James Iha, D'arcy Wretzky, Jimmy Chamberlin, Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Bun E. Carlos, Tom Petersson
Order of bands	Cheap Trick, The Smashing Pumpkins
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October 23, 1995 was the Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness record release show, which was broadcast live on FM radio across the United States. The Riviera Theater suffered a power outage during "Zero" that lasted for 6-7 minutes. The second encore was performed with Cheap Trick, with drummer Jimmy Chamberlin on guitar.

Setlist[edit | edit source]

Encore one[edit | edit source]

"Mayonaise"
"X.Y.U."

Encore two[edit | edit source]

"Baby Loves to Rock" [Cheap Trick] (only performance)
"If You Want My Love" [Cheap Trick] (live debut)
"Auf Wiedersehen" [Cheap Trick] (live debut)

Notes[edit | edit source]

"Baby Loves to Rock", "If You Want My Love" and "Auf Wiedersehen" with Cheap Trick

Banter[edit | edit source]

BC: Good evening.
D’arcy: Hello.
Tonight, Tonight
Jellybelly
BC: Hello! We're the nervous Smashing Pumpkins. Thank you so much for coming tonight. We'd like to say hello to our friends around the world. In Europe, in Asia, in the Soviet Union and New York too. So here are some more songs from our new album...comin’ out tomorrow, hope you like it.
Zero (abandoned 18 seconds in due to power failure)
BC: Wouldn't you know it, all the power goes out.
D’arcy: For all of you out there in radioland.... The power went out.
BC: Well, wouldn’t you - oh yeah. Yeah! Hahaha! Ha. All the (trails off laughing). (silence for nearly a minute, although Billy can be heard giggling a few times) I don't know if anybody can hear us out there in radioland, but all the power went out and you know, wouldn't you know it. Anyway, thanks for listening to nothing. (another minute passes, crowd starts clapping as if it’s an encore break) Um. Huh, apparently - apparently the uh, the audio's still going out to the world, James, so say hi.
Iha: We're very sorry. What? Well, we'd like to say (trails off laughing).
BC: Well, the power to the building just went up in flames and uh...so, James, come on over, James, James, come on over to the mic. Say hello to all the listeners in radioland.
Iha: Well, we're very sorry, I remember when I was a small child this happened to me once and uh....
D’arcy: We're really sorry, um, Cheap Trick just played and we're really sorry you had to miss that. We're gonna play with them later on if we can get the power back on. Apparently the power from the building just went up in flames, so we don't really know what to do, we're standing here. People are throwing stuff at us.
BC: Yeah. Well, you know, D'arcy, it's been a long year of recording the album and....
D’arcy: Well, this was bound to happen.
BC: Right!
D’arcy: Heh heh, it’s like....
BC: Pumpkin luck.
D’arcy: Yeah, right.
BC: I think we're gonna be engaging in some folk singalongs now.
D’arcy: I think - I think we're gonna be doing some stand up comedy here now.
BC: When was the last time the power went out on us? At Athens?
D’arcy: Um, in Iowa.
BC: No, Athens?
D’arcy: No no, Omaha. No, not Omaha.
BC: Oh yeah yeah yeah.
D’arcy: Where were the Chainsaw Kittens?
BC: Norman, Oklahoma.
D’arcy: Oklahoma, they threw cans of tomato soup at us.
BC: Because we had no power.
D’arcy: Yes and, and we almost died that night.
BC: Lord knows what they're gonna throw tonight.
D’arcy: Yeah and in about two minutes here, people are gonna start rushin’ the stage and we will probably be dead.
BC: (off mic) Keep talking!
D’arcy: So, um, remember us fondly. I'm throwing picks to the audience, I'm doing anything to appease them right now. It's okay though, there's only about two thousand people here, so it wouldn't be, it wouldn’t be like that bad of a.... All my picks are gone. Good night and I hope we see you in a few minutes.
BC: Welcome! Heh, the Smashing Pumpkins 1995!
D’arcy: It’s radio hour. The Smashing Pumpkins radio comedy hour.
BC: Well, you know we weren't playing that good to start off anyway, so....
D’arcy: Yeah, so this - this is gonna be like mythic. People will remember it as like a mythic show even though we didn't play. ... (power comes back on) Hey, that's better than no show at all.
BC: Alright, hello! Check it out. We got enough power to play. Can you hear, yeah? So we're not gonna have any fuckin’ lights but we don't fuckin’ care. And we'll play as long as you want us to play. So as soon as we get our shit together, we'll get back to the show, thank you! Ready, Steve?
Iha: (high pitched) Ready!
BC: Ready, Joe? Phil, are you ready?
Iha: (high pitched) Ready.
D’arcy: Oh yeah.
BC: Uh, please turn down my vocal wedge a little bit, thank you. And uh, to the rest of the world, sorry, but it's uh...
D’arcy: Wait, wait.
BC: ...kinda goofy here.
D’arcy: We’re tangled up.
BC: (off mic) We’re tangled? (on mic) Alright, as I was saying, we're playing songs from our new album. You can hear the music?
Zero
> Today
Disarm
> Fuck You
BC: Thank you, you're very kind.
D’arcy: And we hope the sound isn’t too crappy since the power went out and I hope, you know, you - everybody's enjoying themselves.
Thru the Eyes of Ruby
BC: Thank you.
Unknown man: [unintelligible].
BC: Please turn down that nasty white light a little bit, thank you. I want to see the beautiful people.
Geek U.S.A.
BC: Thank you. Is everybody alright? How about you sitting at home, are you okay? I hope you're okay. Say hello to everybody out there, wherever out there is. We're coming to you live from Chicago, the city that rocks together. And now for some ham-bone space boogie.
Iha: That’s right and uh...here’s another new song.
Porcelina of the Vast Oceans
Bullet with Butterfly Wings
Cherub Rock
D’arcy: Thank you.
BC: Thanks so much. We appreciate it.
[encore break]
BC: Thank you. I have to admit that we were a little nervous and then after that power thing we got more nervous. Heh heh. So thank you so much for your support, we appreciate it. Wow, a roadie moment. After you, James.
Mayonaise
BC: Thanks. Thanks for letting us be out of tune for you. Thanks for letting us sing the wrong words for you. Thanks for letting us hit all the wrong notes. Heh heh heh. How can we play an old song if we can't even play our new songs? But thank you.
X.Y.U.
[encore break]
BC: We'd like to do a couple songs with our friends here, Cheap Trick.
Rick Nielsen: Billy! D’arcy! James! Jimmy!
D’arcy: Rick. I don't think that um, we thanked Cheap Trick yet, but we're gonna try and thank them now and hopefully it will be more of a thanks...and uh, I don't know, heh heh.
BC: Thank you so much, you know, we realize it's kind of a fucked evening, but thank you.
Baby Loves to Rock (with Cheap Trick, Jimmy plays guitar)
Robin Zander: Yeah! Look at you. Woo! Yeah!
BC: Let's have a nice round of applause for Cheap Trick, please.
If You Want My Love (with Cheap Trick, Jimmy plays guitar)
> Auf Wiedersehen (with Cheap Trick, Jimmy plays guitar)
Robin Zander: Thank you.
BC: Bye bye.
Rick Nielsen: Chicago, Smashing Pumpkins, thank you.
BC: We'll see you again next year, I think.
D’arcy: Thanks and we’ll thank Cheap Trick, they're totally awesome, I hope you guys know that.

Photos and memorabilia[edit | edit source]