Smashing Pumpkins was living large with the massive success of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. It was the double-album follow up to their previous success Siamese Dream. By the time I saw them on September 8, 1997, they had already released four huge singles: Bullet with Butterfly Wings, Tonight, Tonight, Zero, and 1979.

By this point in life I was licensed to drive but didn’t have my own set of wheels. The parents said “no way are you driving our car to Providence” but also offered no transportation. They didn’t want me to go I’m sure, but said if I could get there with a trustworthy driver AND agree to get up for school the next day, they would let me go. So, the search was on! Oh, and if I didn’t get up for school next day, that would be my last concert until I was 18.

I was really into music at this point in my life, especially the Pumpkins, Metallica, Oasis, Anthrax, the Offspring, and many many others. My love of music had me taking guitar lessons. I wanted to learn the songs I loved and maybe write my own. So, I asked my guitar instructor if he’d be interested in going. I bought him a ticket in exchange for the ride and probably threw him some gas money as well. My parents, probably annoyed with my determination, agreed to let me go. I was going to go with Gar (guitar dude) and a friend, so I bought three tickets.

Off we go! This show was at the Providence Civic Center (later known as the Dunkin Donuts Center, aka ‘The Dunk’ and then the Amica Mutual Pavilion, though it’s not a damn pavilion but they just wanted to be able to call it “the AMP”). I had been here for other events but never a large rock concert and wasn’t sure what to expect. Our seats were in the lower section straight back from the stage. They were not on the floor as floor seats were more expensive and I was a broke young lad who had to buy two tickets in order to go. While close to the floor, they were pretty far back from the stage. We had those fold down, theater-style cushion chairs. The floor (normally used as a hockey arena, basketball court, or 100 other uses as these venues are known for) was lined with regular metal folding chairs. When you go to a show nowadays at an event like this, the chairs are all zip tied together, in nice neat rows. Well, these were not. They were in nice neat rows, but each chair was free to be moved on its own. More on that later.

The opening band was an interesting band called Grant Lee Buffalo. A bit bluesy, hillbilly rock. They were unique and I actually thought they were pretty good live. I did buy one of their CDs after the fact, but it was not as good as the live act. I sold it. Give me back my money!

There was a stage change/clean up after the opener and the anticipation was building. This was one of my favorite bands that I grew to love even more over the years. I was ready! Finally, the lights went low. On the CD itself, the first track on disc one is Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The show opened with this track and I believe it was a pre-recorded version, though it may have been a touring keyboardist. As soon as this song started while the lights were still nice and low, everyone around us charged the floor. The mass of people was no match for security. Suddenly the people who were sitting in the arena seats (first and second level) were on the floor and as close to the stage as possible. The people on the floor who had paid for nice, close, expensive seats were surrounded. And because they had stood up with excitement when the music started, their chairs were stolen from underneath them and discarded. Within minutes, the entire floor was full of people and there was a giant pile of discarded metal folding chairs in the back of the arena. Most were not folded up, so it was just a chaotic pile of twisted metal.

At this point, we decided to upgrade our seats and moved to a different part of the arena. We remained in the lower section but moved up much closer to the stage, making use of all the vacated seats from those who charged the floor.

The show was great. They blew through all the Siamese Dream hits, the Mellon Collie hits, and many more tracks in Mellon Collie that I’d grown to love. Sadly, they did not play Mayonnaise but they did play Muzzle. Why this song never became a monster hit I don’t know, but it’s great. For one of their encores, they played a wild version of X.Y.Z. where it felt like a 30-minute jam session of the band just having a ton of fun. The full set list can be found online of course if you care to look it up. I didn’t write it down at the time, so I have to assume it’s accurate. At one point, they did bring out one of the dudes from the band The Frogs to join them on stage.

It was quite the first arena concert experience. It gave me such a bigger appreciation of this band and I became a huge fan of them over the years. I have so much of their material including various imports, their box set, and other digital rarities. Their new stuff is awesome too, so give it a chance if you find yourself saying “I like the old stuff better.” On the way home, we started a post-concert tradition of hitting Taco Bell. Nothing better than this in the middle of the night.

For the record, I get up for school the next day, and again for every concert that followed. Never faltered. Bring on the rock!