Now in Chicago

Is Billy Corgan a Genius?

As I continue to work through the haze that was Tuesday night’s Pumpkins concert in Chicago, I am discovering that Billy’s antics just may have been intentional by design.

Reports from each of the cities that the new “Smashing Pumpkins” have all been the same, Billy tweaks in the end.

So, is Billy a marketing genius? Because the Pumpkins have been out of the limelight for so long, is he bum-rushing the fans with angst, hate, and self-loathing in hopes of regaining the respect of his fans? Is he going over-the-top alter-punk-asshole so that he can show that he has not sold out? Or, is he just going out with a bang, spitting on the very people that have enabled him to reap the rewards of super stardom and then riding off into the sunset as the uber-punk? I don’t know, but if I had to guess, I would say he is a marketing genius. Nothing stems curiosity more than angst and controversy. Fans want to be appreciated, or do they? They most likely like to be spit on.

Regardless, Billy has re-launched his brand and the Internet is bursting with Smashing Pumpkins news, blogs, and comment threads since his tour started. Time will tell if the new “asshole” status will convert into record sales. Stay tuned…

In the meantime, wanna see some "real music" I found? Check out Adam Stern's new video, War...this is some hot stuff coming out of Cali!

Erykah Badu in Chicago

A purple mic, a red thermos (most likely filled with tea), an apple laptop (or maybe 2), a drum, some background singers, bass player, rhythm guitar, drummer, key boardist, deejay, a drum machine, mirrors in the back of the stage creating a 3-deminsional view of the band; these things created the Erykah Badu "Live" Experience.

My intention when electing to attend this concert was to see The Roots, a unique hip hop band from Philly who was the opening up for Eyrkah Badu last Saturday night at the Chicago theatre. But, after a dismal showing (by The Roots) and then a 45-minute interlude(?) and finally Erykah, I was thoroughly engrossed in the Badu experience; this was not just a concert, but an anthology of current, past, present, and future, all creatively orchestrated into a complete entertainment experience. It was Erykah’s background in theatre that made Saturday night less like a concert and more like an artsy-eclectic-film noir-underground-movie-house-type-gig with an audience just as diverse as the performance itself.

The Recipe
It could have been her drum machine interludes where Erykah created heavy beats on the fly while the band inserted itself seamlessly to create harmonious sets. Or, perhaps it was her pauses for a sip of tea then a click on her iTunes to run a song she digs that lead to a queue of the band for the next song. Or, maybe it was her physical play of the songs that birthed the organic aroma of the night. On second thought, maybe it was her climb down into the trenches of the crowd, putting herself among the enterainment recipients of the night, becoming not only the driver of the night, but a passenger as well. In the end, it was the blend that made the night; keeping the audience on their toes, not aware of what was coming next, while encompassed by the now, and totally oblivious to time, a recipe for success.

In an a society starving to be moved, this concert was a hybrid entertainment vehicle that is leaps ahead of any concert on the circuit right now…a truly wholisitc production that is not only entertaining, but socially responsible. Hopefully this is the new trend, as the mark has been set high by Badu.