The Smashing Pumpkins 1996-11-04

November 4, 1996 – Portland, ME, US
Live performance by The Smashing Pumpkins
Infinite Sadness tour
Date	November 4, 1996
Venue	Cumberland County Civic Center
Coordinates	43°39′20″N 70°15′33″W
Location	Portland, ME, US
Venue type	Arena
Capacity	9,200
Personnel	Billy Corgan, James Iha, D'arcy Wretzky, Matt Walker, Dennis Flemion, Jimmy Flemion
Order of bands	Garbage, The Smashing Pumpkins
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Setlist

1. "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" (prerecorded) 
2. "Where Boys Fear to Tread" 
3. "Zero" 
4. "Fuck You" 
5. "To Forgive" 
6. "Jumpin' Jack Flash" [The Rolling Stones] (tease) 
7. "Today" 
8. "Tonight, Tonight" 
9. "Thru the Eyes of Ruby" 
10. "Drown" [5:17] 
    1. "Hummer" (tease) 
11. "Siva" [7:29] 
12. "Disarm" (acoustic) 
13. "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" 
14. "Cherub Rock" 
15. "Porcelina of the Vast Oceans" 
    1. "Rocket" (tease) 

Encore one

16. "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" [Iron Butterfly] (tease) 
17. "X.Y.U." 

Encore two

18. "Country Death Song" [Violent Femmes] (tease) 
19. "1979" 
20. "Silverfuck" [28:32] 
    1. "Dose" [Filter] (tease) 

Notes

• "1979" with Jimmy Flemion

Banter

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness Intro
Where Boys Fear to Tread
> Zero
Fuck You
To Forgive
BC: Good evening, hi, hello, hi. Thank you very much for coming to the concert.
Jumpin' Jack Flash (tease - 2 times through riff)
> Today
“Thank you for participating” tape
> Tonight, Tonight
Planet of the Apes clip
> Thru the Eyes of Ruby
BC: Thank you.
Drown
> Hummer (tease)
BC: We uh, we came here once before in 1991 and we played a place called Zootz. We played this next song to about 50 people who didn't seem to care very much, so I'm sure you were all there, um, hope you enjoy it.
Siva
Disarm (acoustic)
Circus tape
> Bullet with Butterfly Wings
Cherub Rock
Porcelina of the Vast Oceans / Rocket
[encore break]
Iha: Alright. Uh, thanks, thanks a lot. You people are very...very uh...neat! Neat. Uh, not neat, neat, uh, very nice, very lascivious, uh, didactic, perhaps uh...[2 unintelligible words]. But we're here and we're ready to rock some more, we thank you very much!
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (tease)
Iha: No, no, no, no. Oh no, no, no. Yeah, yeah, motherfuckin’ yeah! [2 unintelligible words], you people of Maine, I wore it but I want you to throw away those books and lose your fuckin’ mind! I want some enthusiasm RIGHT NOW! Think about this, what would it feel like to be a live lobster thrown into a pot of scalding water? That’s what I want you to feel like. Let’s make it funky. Alright, so I’ve uh, I’ve given my speech for enthusiasm, I hope you will follow us on this next journey of our [2 unintelligible words] and uh, hopefully I won’t break the procedure, ‘cause you’re playing that funky ass guitar! (tease ends) Alright, let’s rock.
> X.Y.U.
[encore break]
Iha: Thank you, thank you. You're very kind. Ladies and gentlemen...get a, get a grip. We've got a special guest, he comes all the way from Milwaukee, of the Frogs, Jimmy Frog! Hey...hey, Jimmy Frog, Jimmy Frog everybody, let’s all wave at Jimmy. Hey Jimmy, Jimmy waves back, he likes you. Hi Jimmy. Alright, let’s get on to the keyboards. His brother, of the Frogs, Dennis Frog! I'll tell you, Dennis is a hell of a guy and a great poker player. And now, the moment you've been secretly waiting for, the backbeat, the one in the pocket, Matt “Cosmo” Walker on the drums! Matt is a fine upstanding man and fortunately he is a redhead but--so what do we do about that? Just kidding, just kidding.
BC: Now, we’ve started a new tradition with our show. This is normally the part of the show where we invite some people from the audience to get up on stage with us.
Iha: Alright.
BC: Wait a second, wait a second.
Iha: Settle the fuck down.
BC: Hold on. Now, this is one of those new traditions, new traditions, doesn’t mean we do it every night.
Iha: I don’t--
BC: Usually...
Iha: Usually.
BC: ...usually...
Iha: Usually.
BC: ...when a crowd is very quiet, suspiciously quiet...
Iha: Why is that?
BC: ...we don’t do the dancing.
Iha: Why is that?
BC: So, you tell me why you've been suspiciously quiet. (crowd cheers) Now, we've been a band for about nine years, played a lot of concerts and there’s only a couple reasons, two or three reasons why a crowd is suspiciously quiet. Reason number one is that it sounds bad, does it sound bad? Wait. Raise your hand for yes...oh, it sounds good, okay. Possible reason number two is that we suck...raise your hand if we suck. Alright, well, the only other explanation is you suck. Thank you very much, alright, we'll do the dance contest, heh heh.
Iha: That is a rather damning--
BC: I appreciate your honesty. Nah, we're just teasing you now.
Iha: That was a damning statement--
BC: I know you're not used to the psychedelic cyber, yeah, fuck you too. We’re not used to the cy.... That guy’s had a little much of the, uh--too much of the ocean breeze inside his brain.
Iha: Too many lobsters.
BC: Anyway, now, we've had a nice show, we thank you very much for coming, it’s just uh, you scared us with your uh, your quietness, but you're all still here, so I guess that's a good sign, so.... So now it’s time for Jimmy to choose the dancers, Jimmy, choose away! Who shall it be? (Matt starts a beat) You look like a dancer! You look like a dancer!
Iha: Let’s do it up. Come on people, put your fuckin’ hands in the air!
BC: Put your hands in the air like you just don’t care!
Iha: Alright! Let’s rock, Portland! Put those hands up, let’s jump for joy, people. Jump for joy, jump for joy, let’s pick a dancer. Let’s pick a dancer, Steve Marker, come to the stage and dance with us! Is Steve Marker over there?
BC: Who shall dance?
Iha: Steve Marker, I see you over there!
BC: No wait, wait wait wait.
Iha: Shirley!
BC: You're not supposed to dance yet. (Matt stops beat)
Iha: No dancing yet.
BC: You’re not supposed to dance yet, hold on.
Iha: Hang on. We have possibly some special guest dancers...
BC: Ohh yeah.
Iha: ...over to the left.
BC: We’re kickin’ it...freestyle!
Iha: That's Garbage and they will, they will not.
BC: Here comes the green angel with tonight's dance participants. Yes, they're your friends, they're your neighbors, they're your enemies, they're the Smashing Pumpkins dancers, come over here, people.
Jimmy Frog: And here they are.
BC: Come over here, Uncle Bill won't hurt you--OH! Dancers...
Iha: Hello. You.
BC: ...come on over here.
Iha: Yo.
BC: Please come over, come say hi, hi. Tell everyone who you are and where you're from.
Guy #1: I'm Adam Hicksfield, I'm from Merrimack, New Hampshire.
Iha: New Hampshire?
BC: Is that even a state? (crowd boos) Who are you and where are you from?
Girl #1: Hi Portland, I'm Angie and I'm from Gray! Wooo!!
Iha: What?
BC: What? I think I've seen you on The X-Files. I didn't understand what you were saying, but uh, alright, I won't insult you. Who are you and where are you from?
Girl #2: Raina Ayley, I'm from Harrison!
Iha: Alright. Well--
BC: It’s been a while since I took geography, but uh, I don't know any of those places. Who--who down here is from Maine? Let’s get somebody up here from Maine.
Iha: Well, who it shall be?
BC: Who is from Maine?
Iha: You must....
BC: You!
Iha: You must have a driver's license once you get on stage.
BC: No, you. She raised her hand, now she’s waving her hat. Come along, you're from Maine.
Country Death Song (tease - Iha starts, Matt and D’arcy join in)
BC: Come on up...so we can make fun of you, I mean get to know you, come on. (Iha has started soloing) Hello! Hey! Iha, cut it out. (tease ends)
Iha: Just watchin’ my mind.
BC: Who are you and where are you from?
Girl #3: Sharon, I'm from Winslow, Maine.
Iha: Fair enough.
BC: Not good enough, huh? Who are you and where did you come from?
Girl #4: I'm from--I'm Melissa and I'm from Merrimack, New Hampshire. (crowd boos) (off mic) No really, I’m [unintelligible word or two].
BC: How the fuck did you get up here?
Iha: (British accent) Nobody knows where they came from.
BC: We're very sorry, as you can see, the dancing portion of the show needs some work but uh, we're gonna try it anyway.
Iha: We want, even though you all can't be on stage, we um, we encourage you to dance, but dance on the stage but do it in your mind. Yes, any of you who've been to college will know what I’m talking about and uh...let’s dance.
1979 (with Jimmy Flemion)
Iha: Let’s have a fine round of--okay, okay, okay, heh heh, you lost your mind. Let’s have a fine round of--round of applause for our dancers here, all from New Hampshire. (crowd boos) Yes uh...seemed like fine, normal people.
BC: Um, (coughs three times), I'm a little uh, S-I-C-K and uh, normally we play a lot longer, but uh, this is our last song 'cause I'm sick and um...so.... (crowd getting upset) Don't yell, I’m sorry, I can't help that I'm sick. Thank you very much for coming, you guys have been really great. We shall say goodbye to you now, thank you so much.
Silverfuck / Dose

and i hear your rain
and i fail your summer ways
and i feel no pain
i feel no pain

and i hear you fade away
and i feel you crawl
and i gave my life away
and 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
(screams)

and she was my lover
and she was my angel
and what i recover
i put into a box underneath my bed

i put her in a box underneath my bed
i put her in a box and i could hear her speak
she woke graceful and quiet
summer dawn and winter moon
and she said you’re a whore and you always were
i always swore you couldn’t walk a straight line
i hate you and i always did, i just did a good job of pretending
but to these things i reply, baby why?
baby why?
why must you make me cry?
why must the girls make the boys cry?

baby my baby
where are you now?!
baby my baby
lost in the cloud
ow!

and i [unintelligible] through the ultimate ether for a day
we played this g-g-game before
fuckin’ in [unintelligible word]
yow!

fuckin’ whore!
fuckin’ whore!
fuckin’ whore!
fuckin’ whore!
fuckin’ whore!
fuckin’ whore, she was a fuckin’ whore!
yow!

BC at 17:49: So let us speak to the final pause. And destroy and divide the last remaining preconceptions that you could possibly have. Ehhh. Shatter, divide, destroy, disarm, deify, demonize...defoliate. Strip the flowers of their petals and their leaves and what do you got? It’s still a flower. So you ask yourself, what is the message? What is the secret? People all the time come up to me and say, “Hey, man, what’s the trick?” You know? And the trick is there is no trick, the secret is there is no secret, the game is there is no game. You make your own rules and you are whatever you deem yourself to be, not what the world makes you. Now, some people when I say these kind of things look at us and say “What the fuck do you know? What the fuck do you know about anything?” Well, strip your little flower of your place, of your name, of your decisions, of your racial, ethnic, economic and sociopolitical biases and what do you got? You’re still a dumb little flower. You dig? (Billy’s voice is very raspy from here) So, thanks for your love, your flowers, your support, your honesty. Your [unintelligible word or two]. Say a little prayer before you go to bed for my sore little throat, if you would, I’d appreciate it.