Smashing Pumpkins have slipped an old Pink Floyd classic into the set of their last three shows.
'Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun' was originally from the 1968 Floyd album 'A Saucerful of Secrets'.The Roger Waters penned track has also been a staple of Waters own setlist in recent times.
Smashing Pumpkins started doing the song at the Adelaide show on April 2 and kept it in for their Melbourne side-show and last night's V Festival performance.
The V Festival show gave Billy Corgan a chance to show-off his knowledge of Australian music "who was that Australian band?" he asked before singing a bit of Men At Work's 'Who Can It Be Now". He also gave a right royal toasting to AC/DC by exclaiming 'Bon Scott said let their be rock".
The Pumpkins is a somewhat unusual act to watch these days. The pseudo-Pumpkins is only Billy and drummer Jimmy Chamberlain.
In place of bass player D'Arcy is another female bass player. In place of guitarist Jimmy Iha is another Asian looking guitarist. It is like Billy Corgan modeled his new band on Bewitched. Like when they changed the Darren's in Bewitched, it is like Billy thinks the audience won't notice the disappearance of D'Arcy and Jimmy if he adds a few look-a-likes.
Needless to say, it doesn't really matter. Corgan's Pumpkins of the 21st Century still sounded great. Adding 'Zero' to the Melbourne V Festival setlist for the first-time on the tour won him brownie points in my book.
The setlist from the V Festival, Melbourne, April 5, 2008 was:
Today (from Siamese Dream, 1993)
Tarantula (from Zeitgeist, 2007)
Stand Inside Your Love (from Machina/The Machines of God, 2000)
Hummer (from Siamese Dream, 1993)
Tonight, Tonight (from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, 1995)
Superchrist (unreleased from Zeitgeist sessions)
Cash Car Star (from Machina II: The Friends and Enemies of Modern Music, 2000)
1979 (from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, 1995)
That's The Way My Love Is (from Zeitgeist, 2007)
Bullet With Butterfly Wings (from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, 1995)
Set The Controls For The Heart of the Sun (Pink Floyd cover)
United States (from Zeitgeist, 2007)
Zero (from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, 1995)
Cherub Rock (from Siamese Dream, 1993)
