Man decked during Smashing Pumpkins Sydney set

A scantily clad woman’s brutal takedown briefly stole thousands of eyes in a bizarre scene onstage in Sydney overnight.

Say what you want about Billy Corgan.

He’s arguably one of the most divisive figures in the music industry over the past 30 years, firing shots high and low at dozens of musical rivals and building an image as an almost compulsively defiant rockstar.

He’s constructed his world his own way, often creating rifts in his own band in the process. He scorns critics and does exactly what a real rock musician should — which is play his music how he wants, with a middle finger raised high towards the naysayers.

So it was absolutely no surprise that when The Smashing Pumpkins took the stage at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion on Tuesday night, a few of their iconic songs from the 1990s were missing.

Like many musicians touring for decades on end, Corgan has clearly grown tired of playing what put his humble Chicago four-piece on the map over 30 years ago. He’s a creative that wants to live in the now, which means playing what gives him a kick.

The Red Hot Chill Peppers recently became a hot topic of discussion amongst longtime fans for this exact — and apparently cardinal — sin during their recent sell-out tour of Australia.

A scantily-clad woman decked a man during the set in Sydney on Tuesday. Picture: Alex Blair

Smashing Pumpkins are touring in April. Picture: Supplied.

With two new hour-long albums released in 2022 alone, it was hard to see how the Peppers would squeeze deep cuts from the 90s into their two-hour show. Yet still punters complained.

When it’s a world renowned act on their thousandth tour, you don’t pay for the songs, you pay for the band. And the band was absolutely stellar.

Fans forking out top dollar ($209 per head) were given a meaty show featuring Aussie rockers Battlesnake and Amyl and the Sniffers and 90s alt group Jane’s Addiction — joined by former Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer no less.

On top of all that, wrestling. For some reason.

We’ll have to put Corgan’s ownership of an entire pro wrestling alliance down to his image as an angsty teen trapped in a millionaire’s body. All jokes aside, seeing a scantily clad female wrestler deck a shirtless dude while the Smashing Pumpkins ripped the sky open with guitar riffs was pretty intriguing.

Watching the Smashing Pumpkins soundtrack some dude getting decked onstage at the Hordern was not on my 2023 bingo.
Wrestling gimmicks aside, that was an all-time show. Corgan is a guitar wizard and dresses like a vampire from outer space. pic.twitter.com/egkJOZfzV9

— Alex Blair (@alexblair_1) April 18, 2023

Wrestling gimmicks aside, Corgan and the Pumpkins know what they’ve got to sell — and that’s a shit-hot band creating stellar music in a live setting. Unlike several other legacy acts from the last century, they don’t resemble a recycled jukebox spitting out songs they rather wouldn’t play a millionth time.

Corgan, decked out in some kind of sci-fi gothic tunic, was obviously in his element and flexed his vocals even with an apparent head cold roughing up his pipes.

Classics like ‘1979’, ’Cherub Rock’ and ‘Zero’ were offered up in roaring fashion and had the crowd nearly climbing the rafters, but the bulk of the set was extended heavy jam sections full of delicious psychedelic noise-rock that the band clearly enjoyed.

I’ll admit, I came away wanting to hear more gems like ‘Mayonaise’, ‘Siva’, ‘XYU’ and other 90s cuts, but I knew if I whinged about that tiny discrepancy I’d just be another tosser.

Corgan’s current onstage look. Picture: Theo Wargo/Getty Images

Despite all original members onstage being in their mid-50s, the band projected the grungy soul that made them famous. The show was unpredictable and refreshing to see, even if the notoriously washed-out sound of the Hordern squashed their rhythm section together at times.

Anyone who has ever picked up a guitar will find something to love in the Pumpkins’ music. It’s hard not to be captivated by Corgan’s effortless work on his famous Reverend — and his stripped back version of ‘Tonight, Tonight’ with nothing but two acoustic guitars on stage illustrated his craft as one of the great melody writers of recent times.

Iha’s short rendition of The Church’s ‘Under the Milky Way’ was also a nice cherry on top.

In short, they’re still good and worth seeing if you want to rattle your eardrums.

The Smashing Pumpkins go for round two on Wednesday at the Hordern Pavilion before an additional seven shows across South Australia, Victoria and Queensland.