Smashng Pumpkins Show Review 7-20-10 Fort Lauderdale

So I usually just talk about my various music things on here but this was too great too ignore. I thoroughly enjoyed the Smashing Pumpkins show at Revolution Live in Ft. Lauderdale (7-20-10) last night. It was amazing. I feel the new lineup is the best they have ever had. The feel is there. Seeing the Smashing Pumpkins in the Gish, Siamese, Mellon Collie, Machina and Zeitgeist eras, I definitely think I have a good basis of comparison. I would say the Machina Tour was right in line with the caliber of musicianship (and over all feel on stage) as this band. They're having fun up there. They have a great chemistry. Mike Byrne and Nicole Fiorentino are really holding down the rhythm section in a way I thought not possible. Jimmy Chamberlin has pretty big shoes to fill but Mike Byrne does the job and then some. I felt Mike Byrne and Nicole Fiorentino brought a lot of energy where it was lacking on the Zeitgeist tour a few years ago. Jeff Schroeder is an amazing guitar player. All of his solos are right on par with Billy Corgan's leads. I don't feel like I miss James Iha very much on stage. I am a big Iha fan but he is off doing his own thing and Jeff is the right fit for the pumpkins. Billy's voice and guitar were spot on. He was playful and emotional. The setlist was the big thing that stood out to me. Great mix of tunes from almost every era of the Pumpkins plus a few obscure tunes and a few new songs. I did notice there were no songs from Gish but heavy on the Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie. A few songs of Adore, Machina and Zeitgeist. They played 2 of my favorite songs ever, "Stand Inside Your Love" and "Eye". I was very impressed with this show. the new material is really good. They played, "Freak", "Astral Planes" and "Song For A Son" off of their new "Teargarden by Kaleidyscope" series available on http://smashinpumpkins.com for free.