Whenever an artist performs live at a concert, many fans expect them to play some of the classic hits of their careers that they grew fond of for a long time. However, there were also musicians like Billy Corgan, who, despite having an extensive music catalog, opted not to perform the Smashing Pumpkins' biggest tracks.
The frontman recently spoke with Kerrang for an interview, revealing that he doesn't like the idea of playing their most popular songs just to please concertgoers.
"I don't play any songs I don't want to play. I don't care if they're a classic or not," he said, adding that if he didn't want to play them, he wouldn't, and he was not going to do it for the sake of the audience.
"I don't put that on the audience like, 'Well, I've got to play this one for you.' I think that's kind of cheese," he added.
The musician clarified that it's not bad that his supporters want to hear their classic songs, but he also noted that fans "can't live in the past" because, for him, it's "the death of any artist."
Corgan said it's hard to explain unless a person lived it, but he discussed that it feels like a classic "devil on one shoulder and angel on the other" thing wherein they both contradict his decisions.
He further noted that new music is vital in emotionally engaging concerts. The key is to find a balance between old and new tracks, and it took him a long time to realize this.
"By putting myself in the audience and trying to understand what I would want to see from a band from the audience's perspective, that allowed me to soften up and realize that maybe my position was a little too... arty," he added.
In other updates about the Smashing Pumpkins, the band will embark on a tour billed as The World is a Vampire Europe Summer 2024.
Depending on the city, they will be accompanied by different supporting acts, but the lineup includes Tom Morello, Weezer, and Interpol.
Their first show will be in Birmingham, UK, on July 6, 2024, before they visit major cities for headlining concerts and a few festival shows, such as Prague, Manchester, Mönchengladbach, Hannover, Berlin, Vienna, Luxembourg, and many more.
More details are available on their official website.
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