Billy Corgan live

Getting to see one of my musical heroes live on Saturday night was pretty awesome. What made it even better was the venue (Pappy & Harriet's in Pioneertown) was tiny and allowed for a very intimate setting. We parked ourselves in front at the corner of stage left and enjoyed the show:

What made the show even more special was this was only the fourth show performed with new Smashing Pumpkins drummer Mike Byrne. I was initially skeptical - the kid is 19 and looks 12. But he is a major talent, and I shot this video of him in action:

I cornered him after the show to congratulate him on his new gig and also to express my admiration. He said he was very appreciative of the support everyone was showing and just kind of seemed overwhelmed by the fact that he just hit the musical jackpot. Very nice and humble kid, and I hope he stays that way. I also became very aware of my playing fanboy to a kid almost half my age so I wished him well and left him alone.

But the most-talked about figure after the show was guitarist Dave Navarro (Jane's Addiction and briefly, the Chili Peppers), who basically seduced the entire female half of the audience. Probably some of the guys as well.

One other amazing item: Billy Corgan actually smiling:

More pics of the show are at Palm Springs Metromix.

• Posted by Brian at 11:21 PM
• Comments (0)
• Category: Music/Movies/TV