The Smashing Pumpkins 1999-12-20

December 20, 1999 – Chicago, IL, US
Live performance by The Smashing Pumpkins
Artist	The Smashing Pumpkins
Date	December 20, 1999
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
Order of bands	The Smashing Pumpkins
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December 20, 1999 was Melissa Auf der Maur's first show. Guests who brought a canned food donation received a signed Christmas card from the band.

Setlist[edit | edit source]

"Pale Scales" (live debut)
"The Everlasting Gaze" (live debut)
"Glass' Theme"
"Heavy Metal Machine" (live debut)
"Tonight, Tonight"
"Stand Inside Your Love"
"The Crying Tree of Mercury" (live debut)
"I of the Mourning" (live debut)
"Glass and the Ghost Children" [10:30]
"I Am One" (with rant) [7:12]
"Rock On" [David Essex] [6:00] (live debut)
"Zero"
"To Sheila"
"Bullet with Butterfly Wings"
"Ava Adore"

Encore one[edit | edit source]

"Disarm" (acoustic)
"1979" (acoustic)

Encore two[edit | edit source]

"Age of Innocence"
"Cherub Rock"

Notes[edit | edit source]

First performance of "Cherub Rock" since 1997-02-05 (96 shows)

Banter[edit | edit source]

Pale Scales
> The Everlasting Gaze
Glass' Theme
Heavy Metal Machine
BC: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of Chicago, Illinois. C’mon!
Iha: (screams). (high pitched) I can't hear you! I can't hear you! (normal) Thanks a lot, it's really great to be back here. We enjoy rocking for you and we hope you like the new songs. Billy's guitar picks are very important. And now, we will go back in time just a little bit.
Tonight, Tonight
BC: Jimmy Chamberlin on the drums. (crowd chants “Jimmy”) Why are they chanting “Timmy”? Oh, the drum tech, Timmy.
Stand Inside Your Love
The Crying Tree of Mercury
BC: Merry Christmas.
I of the Mourning
Glass and the Ghost Children
> I Am One
(BC midsong: And through the ethers we claim this revolution. I’ve sold my body, spirit and constitution. With razor arms and barb wire tongue and jet sky eyes, I penetrate the soul. Yeah. I come inside your mouth, your ears, your nostrils, your secret private part only known to you. We claim the name of this revolution you. We are the unmoving force of will and determination. Yow! I said yeah, no, (screamed) you!!! (normal) That’s right. Sometimes you gotta go backwards to go forwards. Sometimes you gotta dig up the bones and look at them and say they don’t mean shit. This dinosaur however...still rains. R-A-I-N-S. I want to thank you, I want to thank you, I want to thank you, we want to thank you. Yow!!!!! We are the machines. We speak this dream. We come between the seams. We are the machines of god.)
Rock On
(BC during Iha solo: Fuzzy Wuzzy on the lead guitar.)
Zero
BC: Thank you all so very much, thank you, thank you. Thank you. We’re sorry everyone had to wait out in the cold today. Although I do control most things in the world, I do not control the weather, so I'm very sorry about that. So we'd like to dedicate this next song to all you crazy people who were out there at seven o’clock this morning. You can't see them ‘cause they cannot raise their arms but they are here.
To Sheila
BC: Thank you.
Bullet with Butterfly Wings
> Ava Adore
BC: Thank you!
[encore break]
Disarm (acoustic)
1979 (acoustic, Jimmy plays guitar)
BC: Thank you very much, goodnight, thank you. Thank you for a great show, thank you.
[encore break]
Iha: Hey, we'd like to say thanks a lot again for coming out. I know it's super cold out and we appreciate you waiting, you guys have been really great. We would like to welcome and introduce our only Canadian socialist member. Melissa, come on out. We welcome her with open arms and we hope she will carry the rock, the proverbial rock torch if you will. I don't wanna sound too rock cliché but we wanna rock more. Power to the people.
BC: Did you - did you ask them if they wanted to rock or did you say that we wanted to rock?
Iha: (laughing) I was asking them but maybe I should ask you.
BC: Don't ask them if they want to rock. Tell them that you want to rock. Take possession and own your feelings.
Iha: Give it up, c'mon, Chicago!
Age of Innocence
(Jimmy begins drumroll)
BC: Ladies and gentlemen.... I need a drum roll to do this, thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we'd like to present our last song to you. Thank you one more time for a wonderful evening. Apologize to you for not being perfect, heh heh, and all love to you and a merry Christmas. This here's Cherub Rock.
Cherub Rock
Iha: Thanks a lot, you guys have been great, goodnight.

Photos and memorabilia[edit | edit source]