The Smashing Pumpkins 1998-07-29

July 29, 1998 – Washington, DC, US
Live performance by The Smashing Pumpkins
Adore tour
Date	July 29, 1998
Venue	Constitution Hall
Coordinates	38°53′35″N 77°2′30″W
Location	Washington, DC, US
Venue type	Concert hall
Capacity	3,746
Personnel	Billy Corgan, James Iha, D'arcy Wretzky, Kenny Aronoff, Mike Garson, Dan Morris, Stephen Hodges
Order of bands	The Smashing Pumpkins
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Benefit show; $123,199 donated to City Lights School from ticket proceeds. D.C. Council member Harold Brazil declared July 29th "Smashing Pumpkins Day" in Washington.

Setlist

1. "To Sheila" 
2. "Once Upon a Time" 
3. "Ava Adore" 
4. "Perfect" 
5. "The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete" (acoustic) 
6. "Tear" [9:22] 
7. "Annie-Dog" 
8. "Thru the Eyes of Ruby" [10:01] 
9. "Summertime" [George Gershwin] (tease) 
   1. "Blank Page" 
10. "Tonight, Tonight" (acoustic) 
11. "Blissed and Gone" (acoustic) 
12. (percussion solo)
    1. "Where Boys Fear to Tread" (tease) 
    2. "Zero" (tease) 
    3. "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" [9:47] 
13. "Shame" [7:49] 
14. "For Martha" [7:52] 

Encore

15. (check presentation)
16. "1979" 
17. "Transmission" [Joy Division] [22:04] 
    1. "Let's Dance" [David Bowie] (tease) 
    2. "Help!" [The Beatles] (tease) 

Notes

• Audience members are brought on stage at the end of "Transmission"

Banter

To Sheila
> Once Upon a Time
> Ava Adore
Perfect
> The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete
Tear
> Annie-Dog
> Thru the Eyes of Ruby
> Summertime (tease)
> Blank Page
BC: Thank you all very much, thank you. Hope everyone's havin' a good time. Heh heh. So uh, mostly we're playing songs from our new album Adore tonight but this next song is an old song. Because our old songs are better than our new songs as we've found. Heh heh. But when we played Mellon Collie songs after Siamese Dream, people liked the Siamese better and it’s always worked out that way. So we appreciate you being here tonight for this special charity concert. Yes, your money is going to charity, even if we have to swindle it out of your pockets but uh, heh heh heh. So, we appreciate you coming tonight and uh, heh heh heh, thank you.
Tonight Tonight (acoustic)
BC: Thank you very much. It was about two years ago, a little over two years ago that we played our last concert as the original Smashing Pumpkins, as a four piece, in Washington DC. And uh, you know the past two years haven't been very easy on us and it’s been a weird two years, but we'd like to thank you for being there with us and sticking with us over these past two years. So I'd like to play a song for you that I don't...I don't think - the last time I played, I think uh, maybe it was about a year ago and maybe six months before that, I've only played it a couple times live. This is a song called Blissed and Gone, it was a song that we were gonna put on this album but we didn't, so, but I hope you like it.
Blissed and Gone (Billy solo acoustic)
drum/percussion solo
> Where Boys Fear to Tread (tease)
> Zero (tease)
> Bullet with Butterfly Wings
> Shame
(BC over very end of song: Love is good all the time, just ask Monica and Bill.)
For Martha
BC: God bless you, thank you.
[encore break]
Iha: Gracias, thank you very much. You guys have been rockin'. At this time, we'd like to show you where your money went tonight. Uh, this is a show for the City Lights School and uh, we went there today, it's a, it's a really cool place and uh, we'd just like to bring a few of the people out and say a few things.
City Lights rep: On behalf of City Lights School, students, staff and the board of directors, we'd really like to thank the Smashing Pumpkins for their generosity so thanks a lot!
DC government rep: I can't hear any noise in here, how 'bout givin' it up for Billy and James and D’arcy, huh, just - and the Smashing Pumpkins. We love ‘em! You want 'em to come back, you want 'em to do it again? Hey, we love you here, we love ya. On behalf of the District government, I am here to proclaim today the Smashing Pumpkins Day in Washington DC. And to thank you from the bottom of my heart and all the hearts that are out here for your, your wonderful uh, giving, giving of your heart, giving of your music and your spirit and your soul for these youngsters so that they can have a little bit more money to learn and progress and one day get up on this stage. Thank you very much, Smashing Pumpkins, thank you. My name is Harold Brazil! Alright.
BC: Hold on, we gotta give 'em the check.
Iha: Thank you. And here it is. Drumroll! (drumroll from Aronoff) Heh.
BC: We'd like to present the City Lights School with a check for $123,199! I'm really against your artificial encouraging of the crowd to make more noise. We obviously are not good enough for them to make enough noise so for you to encourage them is kind of an insult to us, really.
Iha: Right...goodnight! Thank you! Alright!
1979
BC: Okay, that’s it, that’s the end of the concert, thank you.
Transmission / Let’s Dance / Help!

Photos and memorabilia

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