The Smashing Pumpkins 2000-12-02

December 2, 2000 – Chicago, IL, US
Live performance by The Smashing Pumpkins
Artist	The Smashing Pumpkins
Date	December 2, 2000
Venue	Metro
Coordinates	41°56′59″N 87°39′40″W
Location	Chicago, IL, US
Venue type	Club
Capacity	1,100
Personnel	Billy Corgan, James Iha, Jimmy Chamberlin, Melissa Auf der Maur, Mike Garson, Chris Holmes, Dennis Flemion, Jimmy Flemion, William Corgan Sr., Linda Strawberry, Matt Walker, Rick Nielsen
Order of bands	The Smashing Pumpkins
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December 2, 2000 was the infamous farewell show of The Smashing Pumpkins, featuring ~38 songs over four hours. The band requested that audience members not record this show due to plans for an official release, though it never materialized. A number of special guests attended, including William Corgan Sr. (Billy Corgan's father), Chris Holmes, Dennis Flemion and Jimmy Flemion of The Frogs, Linda Strawberry, Matt Walker, Mike Garson and Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick.

The performance included four encores, the fourth being a half-hour rendition of "Silverfuck", which the crowd was begging for.

According to Rolling Stone, before Silverfuck, Billy said "Let's rock one more time. Not for you, because you get it. Let’s rock one more time for all those people who don't get it, who don't understand that music overcomes all this fucking bullshit." However, none of that appears on the (longer) circulating tape of the show.

As the band waved goodbye and walked off stage, Billy Corgan stayed to shake hands with fans, covered in sweat and overrun with tears. Jimmy Chamberlin later recounted the night as "a myriad of everything the band is — the happiness, the sadness, all of the polar opposites of the heart." Chamberlin was seen crying as James Iha thanked the absent D'arcy Wretzky. "I just wanted to mention her," Iha told Rolling Stone. "Regardless of whether she's not playing with us, she's still with us. She was really important to the band."

Ticket holders all received a copy of Live at Cabaret Metro 10-5-88, which was a recording of their very first show in 1988, which also took place at the Metro.

Setlist

Set one

1. "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" (prerecorded) 
2. "Rocket" (abandoned) 
2. "Rocket" 
3. "I Am One" (with rant) [5:16] 
4. "Rhinoceros" (abandoned) 
4. "Rhinoceros" 
5. "Shame" 
6. "Porcelina of the Vast Oceans" [9:57] 
7. "The Everlasting Gaze" 
8. "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" 
9. "Spiteface" (tease) 
10. "Thru the Eyes of Ruby" 
11. "Blissed and Gone" 
12. "(Where Do I Begin?) Love Story" [Andy Williams] (tease) 
13. "To Sheila" 
14. "Mayonaise" 
15. "I of the Mourning" 

Set two

16. "Muzzle" (acoustic) 
17. "Stand Inside Your Love" (abandoned) (acoustic) 
17. "Stand Inside Your Love" (acoustic) 
18. "Perfect" (acoustic) 
19. "This Time" (acoustic) 
20. "Go" (acoustic) (only performance)
21. "The Last Song" (only performance)
22. "Last Instrumental" (only performance)
23. "Age of Innocence" (acoustic) 
24. "Thirty-Three" (acoustic) 

Set three

25. "Tonight, Tonight" 
26. "Siva" [4:22] 
27. "Fuck You" 
28. "Drown" [4:59] 
29. "Starla" [7:06] 
30. "If There Is a God" 
31. "Cash Car Star" 
32. "Rock On" [David Essex] (tease) [2:26] 
33. "Heavy Metal Machine" 
34. "Today" 

Encore one

35. "For Martha" 
36. "Born Under a Bad Sign" [Albert King] (only performance)

Encore two

37. "Cherub Rock" 

Encore three

38. "Disarm" (acoustic) 
39. "1979" (acoustic) 

Encore four

40. "Silverfuck" 
1. "Geek U.S.A." (tease) 
2. "The Star-Spangled Banner" [Francis Scott Key] (tease) 
3. "She Loves You" [The Beatles] (tease) 
4. "Help!" [The Beatles] (tease) 

Notes

• "Muzzle" (bongos) and "1979" (drums) with Matt Walker
• "Blissed and Gone" and "To Sheila" with The Frogs
• "To Sheila" with Linda Strawberry on vocals
• "For Martha" and "Born Under a Bad Sign" with William Corgan Sr. on guitar and vocals
• "Cherub Rock" with Rick Nielsen on guitar
• "Ava Adore" was on the setlist after "Cherub Rock" but was not played
• First performances of "Rocket" and "Silverfuck" since 1997-02-05 (234 shows)
• Last performances of "Porcelina of the Vast Oceans", "The Everlasting Gaze", "Mayonaise" and "Cash Car Star" until 2008-01-30
• Last performance of "Siva" until 2008-08-08
• Last performances of "I of the Mourning" and "Age of Innocence" until 2008-11-04
• Last performances of "Thru the Eyes of Ruby", "I Am One" and "For Martha" until 2011-10-05 (full version of "I Am One" with lyrics not played until 2011-11-29)
• Last performance of "Rhinoceros" until an unknown date in 2011 (next full band performance 2013-04-29)
• Last performance of "If There is a God" until 2013-07-26
• Last performance of "Blissed and Gone" until 2015-06-15
• Last performance of "This Time" until 2016-05-21 (and final full band performance)

Banter

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness Intro
Rocket (abandoned after 8 seconds due to Tonight, Tonight coming on over PA)
Iha: Thank you, goodnight! Thank you.
Rocket
> I Am One
(BC midsong: Across the shards, we walk across time. Blister open the young child mind. A boy, a child, a grown man, a sinking ship: what do these things have in common? Yeah. Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme nothing! Gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme nothing! All I ever wanted was everything and all I got was shit!! All I ever wanted was everything and all I got was a heavy dose of love. Welcome, welcome, welcome. Welcome to the last gasp of the Smashing Pumpkins. We are the machines. We speak death’s dream. We are the machines. We are the machines of goooooooood.)
BC: Thank you so very much, thank you. We'd like to thank everybody for coming tonight, thank you. This next song, uh, we'd like to play for you, is um - was a, is a, was a, was a song that was written, um, I think around 1989. Heh heh, yes. And um...
Girl in crowd: Spiteface!
BC: No no, it wasn't Spiteface. And uh...this is uh...this is uh... What am I trying to say? This is one of the songs I think when we first realized, uh, the sort of sound that we had and uh, so that’s why I wanted to play it for you tonight. So, please enjoy.
Rhinoceros (abandoned almost immediately - Billy or Iha is out of tune)
BC: Even on our last show we can't get it right! ... Are you - okay, wait, something keeps being jacked up. As long as we're stopped we might as well - something keeps being jacked up. Alright, we're gonna play a different song now. I think it's this mic.
Rhinoceros
Shame
> Porcelina of the Vast Oceans
> The Everlasting Gaze
> Bullet with Butterfly Wings
BC: Thank you very much, thank you. So we've got a little, uh, present for everyone when they leave tonight. It's a signed Christmas card, Jimmy! No actually, we made CDs for everybody of our first show here at Metro.
Iha: I don't know if you guys like Little Feat, but we did a whole cover set of Little Feat songs and that's - that’s our first show here.
BC: Yeah, it's um, it's 38 minutes long, heh heh. That's all they would let us play back then.
Person in crowd: You played Spiteface!
BC: Yes, we played Spiteface. He’s been waiting for um, 12 years to hear that song again. James, would you like to give a little Spiteface?
Spiteface (tease)
BC: That's the last time we're ever gonna play that.
Iha: Another last time right there.
BC: And uh, we were - we were here last night rehearsing and uh...there were some stupid crazy kids outside waiting. And uh, last night when we were rehearsing, I was, um, sort of, you know, as you will, you reminisce about all the shows that we've played here and the one thing that sort of struck me was, um, back in the old days when they used to put the monitors right here and we used to stand sort back here, there was this spot on the stage that was sort of wobbly. I don't know if they've ever fixed it, but - but um, every time I would go to sing, the mic would go like.... Like...
Iha: We sorta had a different kind of sound back then, it was a little...wobbly, I guess.
BC: So we'd like to play you a song off the Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness album. It’s not a bad album, it’s alright.
Thru the Eyes of Ruby
BC: Thank you very much, thank you very much. We’d li - heh, yeah, you’re too early if you will. We'd like to bring out a couple special guests, we have um, a bunch of special guests tonight. They’re the most dangerous band in the world. Dennis and Jimmy Flemion, the Frogs.
Blissed and Gone (with The Frogs)
BC: Would you like to sing a little love story, Dennis? Love story?
Where Do I Begin? (Love Theme) (tease - Mike)
BC: Wow, you’re like - don't be shy. This is - this is Linda Strawberry. She's very famous in Romania. Number one. Okay.
To Sheila (with Linda Strawberry and The Frogs)
BC: Linda Strawberry. Thank you to the Frogs.
Mayonaise
I of the Mourning
[set break]
BC: We've got a special guest right now, Mr. Matt Walker.
Muzzle (acoustic, with Matt Walker on bongos)
BC: Thank you very much.
Stand Inside Your Love (abandoned right before lyrics start)
BC: Oops. It's our last show, people, she’s a little freaked out. Heh heh heh. See, you can't have a love song in F sharp, it just doesn't work. It's a G kind of thing. Well, as long as we're stopped, I'll like to say, uh, I wrote this song for my girlfriend up there, [unintelligible]. Where are you, [unintelligible]? Lynn Bramer is not my girlfriend. I think she's left the building.
Girl in crowd: I love you, Billy!
BC: I love you too.
Stand Inside Your Love (acoustic)
BC: Thank you, how's everybody feelin'?
Perfect (acoustic)
BC: Thank you very much. This uh, this next song, is interesting because um, for this particular case, because when I wrote this song it was pretty much the last song I wrote for the Machina albums and uh, I knew the band was going to break up, so I guess this is sorta prophetic, this song and um.... That's okay, there'll be another concert to talk. It's a Pumpkin joke. And um...so this is This Time.
This Time (acoustic)
(BC after “to this romance”: [unintelligible], oh shit, I fucked up.)
BC: Sorry about that. Now I'd like to introduce the man on the mic, Mr. James Iha.
Iha: Thank you.
Go (acoustic)
Iha: Thanks.
BC: Uh, yeah. So this is uh, the last song I wrote for Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, this is called The Last Song.
The Last Song
BC: Thank you.
Last Instrumental
Age of Innocence (acoustic)
> brief Mike Garson solo
> Thirty-three (acoustic)
[set break]
Tonight, Tonight
BC: [unintelligible.] You ready there, James?
Siva
BC: Hello. Have you had enough yet? Have you had enough yet? I don't know, you look like you may have had enough. Hahahaha. Hahaha. Alright, we got - we got a little treat for you right here. If you hadn't had enough, you're gonna have - uh, huh? If you haven't had enough, you're gonna have enough after this one.
Fuck You
BC: That's right, that's right. Here’s to all of you, here’s to all of you, thank you very much. I'll tell you one thing, we ain’t leaving anything behind when we leave here tonight. We're taking it all with us. Every single ounce of it...of your love.
Melissa: I want...your love.
BC: So we'd like to - heh heh. As if you haven’t heard enough, we'd like to play some more songs. This next song was from that scintillating grunge movie starring....
Iha: Starring, uh, Matt Damon. No, Matt Dillon.
BC: Good Will Hunting! I'm, heh - I’m making a cultural joke and then I realized I'm in a silver dress, you know?
Iha: That is - that is true.
Drown
> Starla
BC: Thank you.
If There is a God
> Cash Car Star
Rock On (partial)
> Heavy Metal Machine
BC: Thank you very much, thank you very much. The end has arrived. Heh heh. Yes, it is the final song. I can't believe we got there, you got there, thank you very much. We wanna say thank you for havin' the greatest fans in the world, the most absolute amazing people in the world. Of course we don't believe that bullshit but it sounds good when you say it. Heh heh heh heh. We love you too. So one more song, okay, everybody sing along for a change, eh?
Today
[encore break]
BC: Thank you very much, thank you. Heh heh. Um, before we play any more, I'd like to uh, say a little prayer, I'd like to thank god for getting us around this earth five times safely...and giving us the will and the way to uh, I don't know, yes, thank you, and god, thank you god. I'd like to say a very special thank you to all the families of the Pumpkins, both friends and real: the Wretzkys, the uh, the Ihas, the Chamberlins, the Corgans, the Andersons...the Walkers, the Flemions. I'd like to say thank you very much for the support you've given us over the years. I'd like to say thank you to all of you because without you, obviously this wouldn't happen. I think we - I think we've tried to show you that we've never forgotten that part of it, and uh, I'm too spaced out. I'd like to say thank you to our enemies for pushing us to try harder and be better. So, thank you very much. Oh yeah and one more thing, I'd like to say thank you to the people we've lost through the years, thank you for being a part of our lives and [unintelligible word]. I'd like to bring out a special guest. He's cool, he's bald, he's my father. But he does have more hair than me, I don't know how this worked out. It's sort of genetic, uh, mistake.
(For Martha intro begins)
Bill Sr.: We wanna dedicate this song...to someone very special to us. I know tonight she's out there listening. Dutch, this is for you.
For Martha (with Bill Corgan, Sr. on guitar & vocals)
Born Under a Bad Sign (with Bill Corgan, Sr. on guitar & vocals)
Bill Sr.: Thank you very much.
[encore break]
BC: Have you had enough? (crowd says no) I don’t know... I know it's hard to top my father. We'd like to bring out a special guest, seeing as I pretty much ripped this song oddly from him, although its my song if that makes any sense. Ladies and gentlemen from Cheap Trick, Mr. Rick Nielsen. ‘Course he doesn’t really [unintelligible]. Like now. (Jimmy starts Cherub Rock) Alright, here we go.
Cherub Rock (with Rick Nielsen on guitar)
[encore break]
Disarm (acoustic)
BC: Thank you. James, would you like to introduce the band?
Iha: Yes I would. Ladies and gentlemen...a legend in his own time and a very great guy, on the piano, Mr. Mike Garson! From Chicago, on crazy keyboards, strings and things and sounds, Mr. Chris Holmes. And now on the bass, all the way from Montreal, Canada, a socialist, a redhead, Miss Melissa Auf der Maur. And now....
BC: Wait, hold on. Hold on. I think the three of us should say a special thank you to Melissa. Without Melissa, this wouldn't all been possible, thank you very much Melissa.
Iha: Yes, a fine round of applause for Melissa. You’re awesome.
BC: We're eternally vengeful, I mean grateful.
Iha: And now, occupying the drum seat right now, all the way from outer space, Mr. Matt “Cosmos” Walker. Hell of a guy. A good man. And now from Joliet, Illinois, a bruiser a cruiser, the pummeler of the drums, Mr. Smashing Pumpkin himself, Mr. Jimmy Chamberlin!
BC: You got your own section.
Iha: The Jimmy section, it's awesome, haha.
BC: How the hell did they get in here?
Iha: Let’s get that on film. Okay, we got it. Alright. And now on lead vocals, guitar, song singing, sonic sounds, everything, Mr. Billy Corgan.
BC: Thank you. And the man who I started this crazy godforsaken band with. All the way...all the...where are you from?
Iha: Uh, Paris.
BC: All the way from Paris, Mr. James Iha.
Iha: Thank you.
BC: Before we play this final song, we'd like to say thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Oh yeah, there's one more guy I wanna thank: that man right there, Mr. Joe Shanahan. Joe Shanahan is the greatest guy you could ever meet. Thank you Joe Shanahan, you're the best, baby.
Iha: Uh...hell of a - hell of a guy. I'd also like to thank all our crew. You guys rock that made the show happen. Everybody involved with the Pumpkins we'd like to thank.
BC: Yes, for a long year and a hard year, but we thank you for your hard work, thank you very much.
Iha: And uh....
BC: Let's give a hand for the crew. They're a little hungover today! They need some help. Oh, yesterday.
Iha: And uh, I'd also like to thank somebody who's not here, I'd like to thank D'arcy, who uh, isn’t here, and uh...I love her, heh heh...and we all love her.
BC: Hell of a girl, hell of a girl. Okay. Now we've asked you to sing along to a couple other songs, we didn't get your full participation. We know you didn't vote and thanks to you, we now have George Bush as a president.
Iha: Now wait a minute, didn't they check those dimpled ballots one more time? Sorry, go ahead.
BC: So please, help us get through this last song.
Iha: Yes.
1979 (acoustic, with Matt Walker on drums, Jimmy plays guitar)
Iha: Thank you, thank you.
BC: God bless you, thank you.
[encore break]
Joe Shanahan (during encore break): Come on, let’s hear it! You sound like a New York audience, this is Chicago, let's go! ... Gotta make it loud! Louuuuuuud!
BC: Are you ready? Are you ready?
Silverfuck

i hear your winter
i hear your rain
i've failed your summer ways
and i feel no pain

yeah
no

let it go
let it go

yeah
no

i am betrayer
i am betrayed
i am the soothsayer
don't get in my way

yeah
no
yeah
give it up
give it up

yeah

it's time for a change

i feel no pain
i feel no pain
i feel no pain
i feel no pain
i feel no pain
i feel no pain
i feel no pain
i feel no pain
no pain
i feel no pain
i feel no pain
i feel
there is no pain i feel

and all that i recovered of the broken pieces of my soul
i dove to the bottom of the river
and i lost my self control

how bad is it johnny
it's real bad commander
how bad do you want it johnny
i want it real bad captain
i want it real bad

and all the mockingbirds say
tweet tweet
tweet tweet
tweet tweet
tweet tweet
it was drilling a hole in his skull
he did not know where he wanted to go
but he knew he wanted to get there

i hear what you want
and i feel that way
i hear what you want
and i feel that way

how do we do it
we do it like this
how do we do it
we do it like this
how have we done it
we just made a wish
how have we done it
it all started with a kiss

we may walk far off the path
but we have returned at last
because the answer to your question
the answer to your guess
is the fucking fact that we never left

bang bang you're dead
bang bang you're dead
bang bang you're dead
put a hole right through your head
bang bang you're dead
bang bang you're dead
bang bang you're dead
put a hole right through your head
bang bang you're dead
bang bang you're dead
bang bang you're dead
put a hole right through your head
bang bang you're dead
bang bang you're dead
bang bang you're dead
put a hole right through your head

she loves you
yeah yeah yeah
she loves you
yeah yeah yeah

help me if you can i'm feeling down
help me if you can i'm feeling down
and i know my way around

and on a bright summer day
a couple sway
catching fish and a beautiful girl
not just any river
but one that can deliver a fish
she says now
where are you going to
she says now
anything that you want to do
because with you my love i cannot lose
this is not abuse
it's a choice

and a mother cried real tears
'cause she lost a daughter and a best friend
he had the face of all those other boys
what's he want with her anyway
she reveals to her friends
and they would say
don't worry
it's true love
don't worry
it's true love
everything was gonna be all right
all right
all right
all right
it was going to be all right

love and pain
love and pain
love and pain
did the troubled voices say
love and pain
love and pain
love and pain
did the troubled voices say

i know what you want
i know what you want
i know what you want

yeah
go
cause they know

i hear your winter rain
and i
i put into a bomb
sometimes the silence
is heavier than the rain
sometimes the silence
means more than the rain
leaves falling
that's right
that's right
that's right
that's right
do not dare disagree

uncaged uncorked unlocked upon the masses
we still lie to get what we want
cause we are sweet as
ahhhh
and for you
for the shame
ahhhh

i hear what you want
and i feel that way
i hear what you want
and i feel that way

do you feel
do you feel
do you feel
how many times do we have to prove this
but let us demonstrate one more time
sort of redundant that way

every teardrop
yes
that's when everything went blurry

yes
can you say yes
yes
we're in the affirmative now
as we said the last time we were on this stage
positivity rules
the heart will win
there is no better way

and all through the winters of my discontent
all through of what i didn't know and what i didn't want
the fences i would crawl
the fences i would stand
upon a self imposed subwall
and nobody cares
it was sad man

and i hear your winter
and i hear its alright
and i did not fail to your wall
and i feel no pain
i feel no pain
i feel no pain
i feel no pain
i feel no pain

and you said
she trusted me
we bled my arm
and dead you bled me daily
it made me so sad i'd wanna crawl
awwww
its always darkest before the calm
until we play a song
until we play a song
until we play a song

theres nowhere else to go
mommy mommy can you hear me
mommy mommy they wont me be
i dont know where else to turn

[tape cuts]

Videos

Short documentary about the last show, with footage of "1979"

Photos and memorabilia

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