Seeing bands like the Smashing Pumpkins in a room that holds less than 1,000 fans is an opportunity that comes around once...maybe. So when my good friend, Sam and I found ourselves standing fifteen yards from the stage at the Orange Peel in Asheville, we were drunk on anticipation. We arrived in Asheville around 7pm. It was the first time both of us had travelled to the town. Asheville is a town where the rich and well-to-do mix with the hippies and all the cool shoppes downtown close at 5pm sharp! Walking down Biltmore Avenue, we were able to get a grasp of the organic culture all around us.

We stood in line for about an hour outside the venue. The Orange Peel advertised 8pm as the door time but they allowed fans in early since it was a sold out show. While we were waiting outside, the Asheville news channel filmed us Pumpkins fans as we anxiously got closer to the club. The Orange Peel was once a popular R&B club in the 70's and the venue hosts some of the best bands in the world. (Kings of Leon played there in June and Spoon will be performing there in October.) It is without a doubt, the most professionally managed venue I have ever attended. And I really want one of their orange "KREW" t-shirts!

Once inside, Sam and I made our way to the group of fans congregating in front of the stage. We were both equally amazed at how the venue was laid out and how close we were to the stage front. This was the third show in a series of nine night residency shows at the Orange Peel. We hadn't heard much about the previous two shows other than the opener was poorly received. This was news to both of us because we weren't aware of the Pumpkins bringing support to these shows.

The opener for our show was Scissors for Lefty. They are an indie pop/rock quartet from San Fransisco. I had heard of their band via myspace but prior to the show, had not listened to any of their songs. To our pleasant surprise, Scissors for Lefty charmed the sell-out crowd with their brand of keyboard-based indie pop/rock. They played several songs from their latest album, Underhanded Romance:"Ghetto Ways," "Next to Argyle" and "Nickels & Dimes." The highlight of their 30 min set was "Ghetto Ways." The vocalist, who was wearing an argyle sweater and black bowtie introduced the song by saying, "This song has a bit of alter-ego to it!" Hear it for yourself:

MP3: Scissors for Lefty -- "Ghetto Ways"

As 10pm approached, the crowd tightened up around the stage. Everyone that brought their camcorders, video phones, etc were focusing on the back curtain behind the stage. The slightest movement in the curtain drew an acute response from the attendees. Finally, Billy Corgan and his baldness confidently walked out to center stage with his acoustic guitar. Everyone screamed and then they screamed some more. I was expecting the full band to kick things off, but Corgan got things rolling with the appropriately titled, "I'm Doing the Best I Can." He finished the song by declaring, "...So [bad word removed] you!" Corgan performed two more prevously unreleased songs solo acoustic before Jimmy Chamberlin, Jeff Schroeder and Ginger Reyes joined him on stage. The band immediately fired into the 1-2 punch of "Hummer" and "Bullet with Butterfly Wings." The band followed up "Bullet" with "In My Body" and "[bad word removed] You." Billy prefaced the latter song by saying, "The last time we played this song was December 2, 2000." At this point, the crowd hit its peak volume and the band took the show to another level. All of this was made possible by a combination of elements: the band's ability to translate their energy into musical matter, the additional lights the band's tech crew installed for their residency and the intense heat upfront.

After the succession of rave-ups, The Pumpkins lept into songs from their new album, Zeitgeist. "Bleeding the Orchid" began the trio of songs. "Orchid" contained these lyrics which were tailor-made for the show, "Here we are/upon the stage/The laughs we share/The dreams we save." I had heard a live MP3 of this song from the band's show in Paris and the band nailed the song both times. After the conclusion of "Orchid," I realized Jeff Schroeder was doing a fine job in a live setting as the replacement for James Iha. "Doomsday Clock" (the lead track from the album) and "Neverlost" followed. The band closed out their first 80 min set with a stunning twelve-minute version of "United States."

After the first set, Sam and I realized that skipping dinner before the show may not have the best of ideas. We rehydrated and sat in the back of the venue while everyone else came back to Earth. The second set began with a pleasing rendition of "Tonight, Tonight." "Tarantula" followed and after that, the Pumpkins kept the momentum rolling by unleashing a nasty version of "Zero." During the first set, Billy and the band let their music and attitude do the talking. But during the second set, Billy loosened up, cracked a few jokes and pointed out a fan who travelled from Brazil to see the show. Billy then played a joke on the fans by asking, "What song do you want to hear?" Someone upfront yelled, "Geek USA!" Billy resonded, "Geek USA .... Yeah, I know that one. I wrote that song, but I don't want to play it." The crowd laughed in unison at Billy's reluctance to play the song. Instead, they performed two selections from "the hit parade": "Today" and "1979."

Two of the highlights of the show were the solo acoustic versions of "Rotten Apples" and a new song, "I Don't Mind." Billy explained that "the new song" was written three days ago when the band first arrived in Ashevile. Billy had included it during the two previous residency shows. This new song did not disappoint the fans. Listening to "I Don't Mind," it sounds like a song that could have easily appeared on "Mellon Collie" or "Adore" and that's not a bad thing. It has a sentimental quality ala "Spaceboy." The version of "Rotten Apples" is noteworthy because it was only the second time ever that he or the band had performed the song live.

Here's the LIVE MP3s of both "I Don't Mind" and "Rotten Apples" from the June 27th Asheville show:

I Don't Mind (new song)
Rotten Apples

The Smashing Pumpkins' 2nd set reached its climax with "Cherub Rock." Shortly thereafter, the band exited the stage for what seemed to be the end of the night. However, the sellout crowd began stomping their feet on the wooden floor of the Orange Peel. A few moments later, the curtain ruffled and the band took the stage for the third time. They put their stamp on the first encore with "Shame" and "Silver[bad word removed]." For the band to play a song like "Silver[bad word removed]," which requires excellent precision from all four members, was simply astonishing.

Once again, the band exited the stage and once again the crowd pleaded for more and pounded the floor. Billy, Jimmy, John and Ginger entered the stage for one last time to perform "With Every Light." Lyrically, it was a logical finishing song: "We're taking over, we're taking over/It's almost over/Away with all the troubles that you've made .... Away."

If there were any doubts about the current lineup of the Smashing Pumpkins and whether they could engage a crowd, those doubts were silenced as the last notes of "With Every Light" reverberated through the venue. The only disappointments aside from nearly passing out during the first set was that the band didn't play "Disarm" or "For God and Country," two of my favorites. So I had to make due with the aforementioned setlist, and it did just fine.