I met Billy and Jeff in Davenport!!

[Floppy Nono]

all sorts, my son

[tcm]

Originally Posted by Floppy Nono

don't forget how he messes up that one line in muzzle 95 times out of 100

he really only messed it up once. just happened to be in the studio.

[Floppy Nono]

then he's got a hell of a track record with trying to get it right live...

[dustrock]

no, it's actually cool that you got to have drinks with Billy. it's just too bad you told Monte before coming to us.

[Rider]

Originally Posted by toadkat9

So my wife and I went downtown Davenport just to hit a couple bars and walk around a bit in hopes that we may actually run into someone from the band.

We were out of the car literally 1 minute walking down 2nd Street deciding where to go, when my wife looks across the street it says "Is that Billy"?? I looked over and actually recognized Jeff immediately. So we went across the street where they were probably a half block ahead of us. We were trailing them for an encounter when they walked into the Woodfire Grill.

So we went in and there stood Billy and Jeff waiting for the hostess. My wife opened with "Can we buy you dinner"?? Billy said that wasn't necessary. I asked if we could get a couple of pictures with them and told them that I didn't want to be rude and interrupt their meal. So I thought it would be best if we could do it before they were seated and ordered their food. Billy said that would be fine and said we could talk a bit. Then the hostess came up and asked Billy how many were in his party. He said 4. I thought for a minute that he and Jeff must be expecting a couple of other people to dine with them. But Billy actually meant myself and my wife as the 3rd and 4th people. Billy wanted to sit outside, so the hostess started to lead us to our table and Billy said again "C'mon, we can talk for a bit".

So we're seated and the first thing Billy says is that he hates when people think they only have 60 seconds to say whatever they want and then have to move along. So there I sat at a table with just Billy, Jeff, and my wife. I was in complete disbelief. I was getting one on one time with Billy and Jeff. Several times I told him that I didn't want to intrude and disrupt their meal. We talked for a total of around 15 minutes before I let them be. Billy did most of the talking and I would simply add my 2 cents or ask him to explain further.

A few things that are newsworthy are that they WILL be playing GLOW as the 2nd song of the set (I couldn't believe he actually gave the setlist placement of the song). I asked about the release and he said it looks like Europe will get a physical release and the US will get a digital version (iTunes). He said he is currently fighting the record company on this, but it looks like that is what will happen. So it'll most likely be just like the American Gothic release. I asked if it was just the one song (GLOW), or if there would be other tracks and told me they had just had a conversation about this and he was not at liberty to disuss it. He said "they" told him not to talk about it.

For the most part, Billy talked about the current state of music and touring. He was telling me how over the course of history even huge acts like Frank Sinatra and Elvis eventually resorted to simply doing shows in Las Vegas. He said soon enough we will be seeing mainstream rock acts such as Motley Crue doing 1 month stands in Vegas. He was going on about how the tours were great when they were in Europe and then it was like hitting brick wall when they came back to the states.

I asked how he meant... as far as ticket sales, the setlist they were playing??.... Him and Jeff at the same time said "both". He said they are not the only band out there having trouble selling out venues. I started asking him about this tour and he was VERY excited to talk about it. He said it will be unlike ANYTHING they have ever done before (even the previous eras). He said it will TOTALLY rock and it will kick everyone's ass. He mentioned that they are working on 9 new songs that the band has never performed before in this incarnation of the band (I'm not sure if that includes GLOW). I figured those would be spread out across the 9 or 10 shows. You know, 2 or 3 songs this night, another 3 or 4 the next, and then kinda mix and match those songs across the tour for a total of 9 new songs. Billy informed me that they WILL be playing ALL 9 SONGS EACH NIGHT!! Now this next thing he told me, REALLY disappointed me. He said they will no longer be changing up the setlist night to night. It will be the same setlist every single night of the tour in the same order (much like the February / March 2008 Europe shows). At this point, I actually looked Billy dead in the eyes and told him "That's Bullshit"!! I must say, it was definitely interesting to sit directly across from Billy Corgan and say that what he was doing is Bullshit. I told him that for me, A LOT of the fun is wondering what songs they will play on any given night of the tour and it's WAY more fun when they throw something in there that they haven't been playing regularly on the tour. I mean CHRIST!! To not even change the order of the songs!?!? I told him I prefer (like most die hard fans) when they take 30 songs on tour with them and play 22 - 24 of those a night. Then there are always a few songs that you aren't sure if you'll hear or not, but always hope so... or even hope for something they haven't been playing at all on the tour. He said the days of changing the setlist night to night and kinda learning songs as the tour progresses are over. Just before this, I asked him if they would give an extra 45 minutes in Hammond. And he just kinda looked at me like what do you mean?? I said, well tickets for Hammond are TWICE as much as any other date on the tour. And seeing as the show is so close to your hometown of Chicago... is there going to be a little "give the fans more for their money". Billy told me the casino's pay the band more money than any other venue, and they also charge a lot more per ticket. The band had no hand in those ticket prices. That's when he informed me it would be the same show across the tour. He tried to explain to me that they were getting a better crowd response that way, but I still told him that totally sucks!! I told him part of the fun as a die hard is waking up the morning after they play a show (wherever they are in the world) and being able to find their setlist to see what they played the night before. It's just no fun for us REAL fans. And he actually agreed that it is short changing us die hards. Which by the way, he did say that if you're a die hard fan, you're REALLY going to enjoy this tour. About this time the waiter came up to ask what everyone wanted to drink and overheard us talking about casino's. The Rhythm City riverboat casino is just a couple blocks from us and the waiter says do you like to gamble?? (totally oblivious to the fact that it is Billy Corgan sitting there) Billy quips back, "I like to gamble with my life". Everyone at the table (Billy included) bursted out laughing at his comment.

Billy got on the James / D'arcy lawsuit a little bit with me. NOW THIS REALLY SUCKS!! He told me that due to the lawsuit, the Gish tour scheduled for early 2009 has been post-poned indefinitely!! Since the boxset may or may not come out (they currently don't know) there will be no tour. He said the whole point of the tour was to coincide with the release of the boxset. So basically tour for the boxset. Well, if there's no box set... there's no tour. He said the release may still come out, but it has DEFINITELY been pushed back due to this lawsuit. I asked him about what eras those 9 songs come from for this tour (and how far back) and he said all the way back. And then I had a MonteLDS moment. I asked him if they go all the way back to 1988 and Billy looks and me and says.... "Now you're scaring me"!. I started laughing at that point (thinking about Monte). I didn't even mention a song title, tease, whatever. I simply mentioned 1988 to get that response.

I know my story might be a little long and not all in the correct order of conversation, but that's what I remember most at the moment. I keep thinking of extra little tid bits here and there. Myself and my wife keep jogging each other memories about certain things he said. So before we left, Jeff offered to take a picture of myself and my wife with Billy. Then my wife took a picture of me with Billy and Jeff. I felt like Jeff was totally left out of the conversation and told him "I absolutely fucking love what you're doing with the band. I think you're great"!! And Billy gave his re-assurance that Jeff was doing REALLY well. That's about all of my story for now. I'll upload the photos sometime soon.

Fixed and highlighted the 2 percent of actual interesting information.

[Andrew_Pakula]

The whole point of playing and changing your setlist from night to night is so you as a band don't get utterly bored with your own songs.

I don't like hearing the talk of Vegas acts, shows he is not in the right mindset.

[toadkat9]

Originally Posted by Streetcrawler89

So the guy invites you and your wife for dinner, sits talking to you for a while, takes pictures with you, yet you still tell him that what he's doing is bullshit?

Honestly, the bullshit comment just slipped out. It was a natural reaction. The same way many of you probably reacted when you read that it was gonna be the same show night after night. Trust me. I'm just as disappointed as everyone else, but it's not really news. They've been doing this the entire year of 2008. Just look at the European leg of the tour, then the Australian shows. So really I'm not dropping any bombs here.


And yes, I found the Gish-box set to be news to me. I hadn't heard/read anywhere about the tour getting delayed (possibly shelved completely). I did ask Billy what was next after the November Anniversary shows since the Gish tour isn't taking place early '09 anymore (at least that's the "current" word). He said he didn't know. I said, well if the box set comes out in 2010 will you still be doing the Gish tour and his response was (with a smile)... "I'm ready to retire".

[Floppy Nono]

Originally Posted by Andrew_Pakula

The whole point of playing and changing your setlist from night to night is so you as a band don't get utterly bored with your own songs.

I don't like hearing the talk of Vegas acts, shows he is not in the right mindset.

exactly, the cure play a setlist as massive, if not more massive than any show sp has played on tour thus far and every night there are at least 3-4 songs that were played at some other point on the tour but not necessarily the night before or even entirely brand new songs to the tour. they let their fans know what to expect and what is a treat. i don't think billy realizes that most of the shows in the same area of the country/continent are attended by the same sets of fans, looking to get that treat. if you let them know that there's no reason whatsoever to see a 2nd sp show of the tour, i promise you that ticket sales will see a significant drop.

then again, he'll probably just write it off by saying people just don't see shows anymore.

[vitaldust]

lolz they'll never play chicago or nyc again

[dustrock]

Originally Posted by toadkat9

Honestly, the bullshit comment just slipped out. It was a natural reaction. The same way many of you probably reacted when you read that it was gonna be the same show night after night. Trust me. I'm just as disappointed as everyone else, but it's not really news. They've been doing this the entire year of 2008. Just look at the European leg of the tour, then the Australian shows. So really I'm not dropping any bombs here.


And yes, I found the Gish-box set to be news to me. I hadn't heard/read anywhere about the tour getting delayed (possibly shelved completely). I did ask Billy what was next after the November Anniversary shows since the Gish tour isn't taking place early '09 anymore (at least that's the "current" word). He said he didn't know. I said, well if the box set comes out in 2010 will you still be doing the Gish tour and his response was (with a smile)... "I'm ready to retire".

Did he talk about how GLOW sounds or what it stands for?

[frugalscotsman]

Originally Posted by Andrew_Pakula

The whole point of playing and changing your setlist from night to night is so you as a band don't get utterly bored with your own songs.

I don't like hearing the talk of Vegas acts, shows he is not in the right mindset.

pumpkins are the next wayne newton. lounge songs for everyone a la HMM from storytellers

"hey cats, thanks for coming to our permanent residency at caesar's palace. before we move on to corgan-sings-sinatra-sings-sinatra we'd like to remind you the champagne brunch ends at 12:30 thanks!"

i hope to god this never happens

[SlingeroGuitaro]

i wonder if the keyboard and the percussion shown in the rehearsal pictures are going to be used for these shows and if that is what billy considers what they've never done before

[DamingR]

Originally Posted by Floppy Nono

exactly, the cure play a setlist as massive, if not more massive than any show sp has played on tour thus far and every night there are at least 3-4 songs that were played at some other point on the tour but not necessarily the night before or even entirely brand new songs to the tour. they let their fans know what to expect and what is a treat. i don't think billy realizes that most of the shows in the same area of the country/continent are attended by the same sets of fans, looking to get that treat. if you let them know that there's no reason whatsoever to see a 2nd sp show of the tour, i promise you that ticket sales will see a significant drop.

then again, he'll probably just write it off by saying people just don't see shows anymore.

Yep. Isn't it about time for him to realize that he has tons of people traveling to see his shows?

Why is it that Pearl Jam gets this so right and he just can't seem to process the information?

If I knew they would play a few "1 time only" songs every concert I would go see more shows. That's what made the premise of the residencies so exciting.

[IWishIWasBlank]

I looked over and actually recognized Jeff immediately.

.

[SlingeroGuitaro]

i can only think that playing the same set will cause there to be less ticket sales as assholes like us will be less inclined to see them 40 times a tour. if he cant sell out with us, how does he think its going to go without us

[Pizza Club]

Originally Posted by toadkat9

Honestly, the bullshit comment just slipped out.

I think you said the right thing. He has to know that there are hardcores that aren't all "lol wenz gossamer cummin out? i'd buy that MULTIPLE TIMES".


Also, what did they order?

[IWishIWasBlank]

Originally Posted by frugalscotsman

pumpkins are the next wayne newton. lounge songs for everyone a la HMM from storytellers

"hey cats, thanks for coming to our permanent residency at caesar's palace. before we move on to corgan-sings-sinatra-sings-sinatra we'd like to remind you the champagne brunch ends at 12:30 thanks!"

i hope to god this never happens

I hope it does.

Bill and Jim in peppermint striped barbershop quartet garb.

Win.

[sppunk]

Oh: And LOL at the idiots who are traveling across the county seeing the same show repeatedly.

[SlingeroGuitaro]

Originally Posted by sppunk

Oh: And LOL at the idiots who are traveling across the county seeing the same show repeatedly.

no joke. when my train broke down on the way to london i was so pissed at what i might miss. then i found out each show was the same that i saw in glasgow i thought 'wtf lol fuck that'

[StillBecomingApart]

Billy dress himself so bad... seriously

Purple? lol

[pale_princess]

Originally Posted by vbshlofbvgos

the same fucking setlist every night?
Its like he's not even having fun anymore, everything is so business like.

sp2 IS a business.

[hnibos]

first picture is amazing

[SlingeroGuitaro]

ha, those pictures are hosted at monteit.com

[WhoAmI]

Originally Posted by vbshlofbvgos

the same fucking setlist every night?
Its like he's not even having fun anymore, everything is so business like.

I truly do not get this comment. Are none of you old enough to have seen an MCIS or Adore-era show? If not, do you not know about spfc.org or splra.org? They were the same shows every night! True, with MCIS there were at least 3 "legs" of the tour, and thus at least 3 "different" shows (1. acoustic-then-electric, 2. Jimmy arena shows, 3. Matt arena shows), but the sets varied very little. The same thing happened during the Adore era. Correct me if I'm wrong (I'm not taking the time to look all this up), but even the "soundtrack" era of '97 basically featured the same set at every festival. I don't recall much song variety during the MACHINA era, but I think the order was switched up quite a bit. I'm also just guessing here, but didn't the Zwan (post-album) and solo album tours pretty much feature static setlists (at least in the songs played sense)?

I guess what I'm saying here is that since 1996, Billy Corgan-related concert tours, taken tour by tour, have featured little variety, with the exception of 2007. It would be great if that variety would continue, but given Billy's history, it's not reasonable to expect it. Therefore, I don't look for these August shows to feature as much variety as the '07 shows, but if the '08 shows so far are any indication, there could be a little change here and there...not enough to satisfy the complainers, of course, but as far as I can tell that's why most of us are here. In fact, I welcome your complaints about this post.

[wounded]

i think a lot of the shows will sell out like the day of the show. it has been that way for a lot of concerts i've been seeing lately. corgan is probably pissed the band isn't as big as it used to be, but who the fuck cares. i think they are playing appropriate venue sizing on this tour


same setlists sucks, but that really isn't that surprising on such a small tour. to be honest, the pumpkins never were that big on varying their setlists on any given tour. i mean they did a little bit, but nothing too crazy.

edit: i got sidetracked after hitting reply and who am I already said it, but yeah they never really varied that much.

it does take away some of the fun of looking sets up online, so since i know it will be teh same i'm going to avoid this place till after the aug 12th show.

i hope they play a solid 23-24 songs though. i hope.

[paranoid]

Originally Posted by WhoAmI

I truly do not get this comment. Are none of you old enough to have seen an MCIS or Adore-era show? If not, do you not know about spfc.org or splra.org? They were the same shows every night! True, with MCIS there were at least 3 "legs" of the tour, and thus at least 3 "different" shows (1. acoustic-then-electric, 2. Jimmy arena shows, 3. Matt arena shows), but the sets varied very little. The same thing happened during the Adore era. Correct me if I'm wrong (I'm not taking the time to look all this up), but even the "soundtrack" era of '97 basically featured the same set at every festival. I don't recall much song variety during the MACHINA era, but I think the order was switched up quite a bit. I'm also just guessing here, but didn't the Zwan (post-album) and solo album tours pretty much feature static setlists (at least in the songs played sense)?

I guess what I'm saying here is that since 1996, Billy Corgan-related concert tours, taken tour by tour, have featured little variety, with the exception of 2007. It would be great if that variety would continue, but given Billy's history, it's not reasonable to expect it. Therefore, I don't look for these August shows to feature as much variety as the '07 shows, but if the '08 shows so far are any indication, there could be a little change here and there...not enough to satisfy the complainers, of course, but as far as I can tell that's why most of us are here. In fact, I welcome your complaints about this post.

this is a pretty good point.. the arising tours also always opened with the same 4 songs.. i am one, zero, pug, la dolly vita.. literally the same set every night with some songs switched around. although they did add siva into the mix for one show.

still sucks though. they have potential these days to really mix things up.

[paranoid]

and also.. get a fucking life people. go out or some shit.. you don't need to be on the internets every night refreshing your web browser to see that there MIGHT be a possibility the band played something that would excite you for a split second. LAME.

besides, you're not the one buying the ticket by reading a message board, the band doesn't have to please you.

and even if they were to change up the setlist.. it's not like the variations n the past have been so dramatic that it warrants buying tickets for multiple shows.. not like one song difference is going to give you a special night like no other.. this isn't the grateful dead. you're still going to hear today, bwbw, 1979 blah blah blah.

[vbshlofbvgos]

yeah the setlists of the past may not have varied all that much but they weren't the SAME EXACT SONGS IN THE SAME EXACT ORDER night after night. There's absolutely no element of surprise whatsoever.

[vitaldust]

Originally Posted by paranoid

and also.. get a fucking life people. go out or some shit.. you don't need to be on the internets every night refreshing your web browser to see that there MIGHT be a possibility the band played something that would excite you for a split second. LAME.

besides, you're not the one buying the ticket by reading a message board, the band doesn't have to please you.

and even if they were to change up the setlist.. it's not like the variations n the past have been so dramatic that it warrants buying tickets for multiple shows.. not like one song difference is going to give you a special night like no other.. this isn't the grateful dead. you're still going to hear today, bwbw, 1979 blah blah blah.

let me put it this way...I was excited for the tour, now i'm not. I find it fun to refresh my browser to see what crazy songs were played that night and yes, the band does have to please me, particularly b/c I'm on this messageboard.

And are you telling me that if one night they played geek usa and one night they didn't you wouldn't have wished you went to both?

c'mon now

[thewidow]

at first we think he's all chilled out and is just gonna have fun...

...and then it's like he's all business and no fun...

wtf billy

and what label?

who the fuck would want sp on their label after zeitshit