Smashing Pumpkins, Jane’s Addiction and Amyl and the Sniffers in Sydney

April 25, 2023

The World is a Vampire Tour has come to Sydney.

Even hours before the doors opened, fans were queued up for The Smashing Pumpkins’ “The World is a Vampire” tour, its name taken from the opening line of their generation-defining anthem Bullet with Butterfly Wings. Their hyped ten-city Australian tour kicked off in Brisbane and last Tuesday tore through Hordern Pavilion.

Supported by the bishops of Satanic whimsy, Battlesnake, the Aussie pub anthems of Amyl and the Sniffers, 90’s titans of alternative rock Jane’s Addiction, and even bouts of pro wrestling courtesy of Billy Corgan’s National Wrestling Alliance, the night was a twisted medley of every timbre and tempo imaginable. The Pumpkins, when they finally hit the stage, surfed the ecstasy of the crowd with signature scathing rock and ethereal melodies, bringing with them the timelessness and electric presence that has kept them cornerstones of the scene for decades.

The show began with the end of the world, prophesised by Battlesnake, the seven-piece Sydney metal band combining dark fantasy imagery, with elements of retro and progressive rock, tied together by a truly Australian sense of humour. Immediately dominating the stage with throbbing bass and blazing red stage light, seven figures dressed in shimmering papal ropes began their ritual. “And the Battlesnake said, let there be NIGHT”. Tracks like ‘Revenge of the Witch’ and ‘The Rotten Priest’ proclaimed stories of demonic armies rising, through sharp, guttural vocals contrasted by the angelic melody of the lead guitar harmony, held in time by all-encompassing bass and hammering drums that their mythical armies march to. The Hordern Pavilion became a dark cathedral in another dimension, with the audience in thrall to the church of Battlesnake. The spell didn’t break even after they left the stage, the audience in a daze. What snapped everyone out of it was something securely of this world, and just as captivating. Pro Wrestling.

The Smashing Pumpkins’ visionary frontman Billy Corgan is famously involved in Pro Wrestling, having purchased the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in 2017, so of course featuring wrestling exhibitions between the opening bands is no surprise to fans.

The matches punctuated the concert between Battlesnake, Amyl and the Sniffers, and Jane’s Addiction. It was the first time that wrestling had taken place in the Hordern since 1991, with match pairings between Corgan’s NWA against the Wrestling Alliance of Australia (WAOA). Australian Wrestlers Jack Bonza and Mat Diamond matched up against America’s Mercurio and Silas Mason in the singles matches, and the second round saw Australians Cherry Stephens and Jessica Troy defeat Americans Kenzie Paige and Natalia Markova. In the internationally anticipated match, La Rebellion defeated the VeloCities for the NWA World Tag-Team Title. The matches fit almost seamlessly between the opening bands, adding to the surrealism of the night and the supercharged atmosphere.

The second opener was Amyl and the Sniffers, who seized the stage and did not let go for one second. Taking their name from the inhalant drug amyl nitrite, the explosive stage presence and pure unrestrained noise gave crowd members the headrush of the drug they’re named after.

The stage seemed to double in size as Frontwoman Amy Taylor lead the Melbournian four-piece, belting out their pub rock instant classics, ‘Security’ and ‘I got you’. Deafening guitar, drum and bass pumped the crowd, but it was Amy herself that stirred the crowd past a mosh and almost to a riot, strutting and dancing and waving, filling every empty space, and at the tail-end of the set, jumping into the crowd. Of all the bands that night, they had the least members on stage yet they were definitely the hardest to ignore, bringing the the stage presence and attitude of a stadium show.

The final opening set was the powerhouse Jane’s Addiction. Fronted by legendary Perry Farrell in a shimmering vest, jacket and flat cap ensemble, the mainstays of subversive alternative rock seemingly materialised on stage. Immediately, the foreboding Spanish intro of ‘Stop!’ off their 1990 double platinum album “Ritual De Lo Habitual”, echoed through the hall. The stage was a time capsule of their late 80’s sound in the shape of ‘Whores’ and ‘Chip Away’ from their self-titled debut, paired with the beautifully dissonant juxtaposition of elegant dancers in feather costumes against the gravelly ocean of course, raw rock.

Stopping briefly between songs to ask the audience, “Have you ever tried a sex swing?” and to grant the song request of ‘Summertime Rolls’ to a front-row fan, Farrell brought the energy and attitude that he always had, having maintained a career releasing and touring music since 1981, and now touring alongside the Smashing Pumpkins for The World is a Vampire. The thick haze of grungy psychedelia only lifted at the end of the set, the audience hounding for more.

Finally, to the ecstasy of the crowd, The Smashing Pumpkins took the stage, and suddenly in the packed Hordern Pavilion, they became the centre of the universe. The Pumpkins have been among the most influential bands in alternative and psychedelic rock in their prevailing success for over three decades. This success began with their debut album Gish and mainstream breakout Siamese Dream, followed by B-side compilation Pisces Iscariot, and, of course, the titanic diamond-certified Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness of 1995, which was nominated for seven Grammys and remains one of the most prolific double albums since. Developing a unique sound in the early 90s grunge era prominent in the lead Mellon Collie single, ‘Bullet with Butterfly Wings’, as well as pioneering elements of shoegaze in ‘Mayonaise’ and ‘In My Body’, Billy Corgan’s seemingly virtuosic relationship with creating music has resonated for years with fans, and that resonance was palpable at the Hordern.

Walking on stage to the opening title track of their soon-to-be-complete three-part rock opera ‘ATUM’, the Pumpkins seemed to rise out of the mist of the smoke machines like ghosts. Corgan, face painted white with signature finger-smeared star on his forehead and flowing black robes, waved to the crowd as the swollen soundscape filled the Hordern like a flood. A priest at his altar, Corgan seethed through ‘Empires’, another track from ATUM, and then immediately the drums thundered in their familiar rhythm as he rasped the singular line, “The world is a vampire”. The shrieking masterpiece of ‘Bullet with Butterfly Wings’ ripped and tore through the pit. From a soaring yet mellow ‘We only come out at night’ to a raging and tormented take on the Taking Head’s ‘Once in a Lifetime’, the Pumpkins were as eclectic as ever. Then the house lights got dark, and the stage emptied until only Corgan and guitarist James Iha remained, facing each other, trading acoustic guitar solos and grinning as if it was just them jamming in a garage, and not on a stage in front of thousands of fixated fans. Corgan’s demonic persona dropped, creating an intimate moment between band and audience. For precious seconds, the crowd was absolutely silent. Iha lead an acoustic cover of the Church’s ‘Under the Milky Way Tonight’, followed by a sombre ‘Tonight, Tonight’ by Corgan. The band returned for the rest of the set, finishing with ‘Cherub Rock’, ‘1979’, ‘Beguiled’ and ‘Silverfuck’, closing the mammoth of a concert and leaving the crowd wanting 10 times more than when they arrived.

From Battlesnake to Amyl to Jane’s to Pumpkins, the colossal celebration of talent and sheer connection between crowd and music made “The World is a Vampire” tour and The Smashing Pumpkins themselves an unstoppable triumph of music. International or local, up and coming or industry giant, the talent and presence was nothing less than euphoric and a landmark show for the Hordern.

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Review by Joseph Agius. Photos by Adam Davis-Powell.