Conspiracies

wandering over the words
the conspiracies unwind
breaking free
from knots and twists that bind

truth isn't easily found
while heads are buried in the sand
the seas just get higher
and the news is on demand

the headlines made to shock
but they'll sell you a distraction
a way to escape
and forget any reaction

Solstice

the darkest days
the longest nights
memories of some
old pagan rites
symbolic gifts
and candles burn
to mark the return
of the light
 ❄ ❄ ❄

Hope

Hope lies hidden inside Pandora's box
It rests and we say hope is not lost
But like Schrodinger's cat
There is an equal chance
Of hope being dead or alive

Traverse the skies - Smashing Pumpkins tours to New Zealand

Living on an isolated group of islands at the edge of the Pacific Ocean, means it takes a lot of time and money to travel anywhere else in the world. It also means that a lot of overseas musicians have further to travel to these shores when they embark on their world tours. However, some do make that extra effort to perform live for their fans in far-flung countries, and Smashing Pumpkins are definitely one of those bands.

The first time the Pumpkins traveled to New Zealand was in 1994, to play at the first ever Big Day Out festival, held in Auckland. Other artists performing at the country's largest music festival were Bjork, Soundgarden and The Breeders. This would also be the first and only time Smashing Pumpkins played at this festival. On this trip they also played a show in Wellington, on 4th February 1994. These shows were played after the release of Siamese Dream, which had gone to number three on the NZ album charts, with Canada being the only other country where it had reached this high. 

After the success of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, the Pumpkins toured extensively around the world and returned to play shows in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. These shows were sell-outs. This was before the era of cellphone and digital cameras, and camera and audio recorders were strictly prohibited, so the audio recordings of these shows are limited - one audio recording from the Christchurch show exists and can be found on archive.org. At the Wellington show, the Pumpkins were supported by a local band called Breathe. A review of this 24th May 1996 show is here.

In 2005, 5 years after the band's break-up, Billy Corgan returned and played a solo show at Auckland's St James' Theatre.

It was a full 12 years after the 1996 Mellon Collie tour, that the Pumpkins would return to New Zealand, this time for the Zeitgeist tour, with Jimmy Chamberlin still on drums, new guitarist Jeff Schroeder, and bass player Ginger Reyes. This line-up played three shows in March 2008, in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. These shows proved hugely popular, not only because Zeitgeist had gone to number one on the album charts, but they were also supported by Queens of the Stone Age, a popular band in their own right. With the Wellington show happening just three days after Billy's birthday, he asked the crowd if they would sing Happy Birthday to him, and they did, twice!

After such a long time since the previous Pumpkins show in New Zealand, Billy promised to the crowd that they wouldn't leave it quite that long before they would return again.

And he kept his promise, as only two years later, on 19th October 2010, they returned to play one show in Auckland on the Teargarden by Kaleidyscope tour. This time Jimmy had been replaced by Mike Byrne, and Ginger Reyes was replaced by Nicole Fiorentino. At this show, they introduced a song which they had recorded in studio, Lonely is the Name, which has not yet been released.

And it was just another two years before they returned again, on the 2012 Oceania tour, playing one show in Auckland again (audio here). The new album Oceania was played in full, then a cover of David Bowie's Space Oddity, with the rest of the show being classic songs such as Bullet with Butterfly Wings, X.Y.U, and also Luna, which they had played only four times on their 2012 tour. 

With a show every two years in the last five years, does this mean that the Pumpkins will return once again in 2014? Perhaps, with the new album they plan to release next year, a tour to these distant shores will follow. 

Sources: spfc.org, wikipedia.org.

The Hierophant

When everything you've worked for
Is lost in the haze
Where do you turn to
Is there guidance to be found
Someone who may seem wise
Can have deception at his side
Sharing lies as his vision
The true knowledge is withheld
False advice is given
And prejudice untold
But you can make a choice
To leave what holds you bound
They have no power over you
And what you keep is a lesson
The journey that brought you here
And onwards you can go

Tides of change

they weave the dark
turning it into the fabric of dreams
their time is now
a change in the air
and it may not be what it seems
but to make a start
rising on the back of silent wings
it's their destiny
from the prophecies of old
we stare and wonder what the tides will bring

Starlight

Entering a world

Of shadows and moonlit nights

Where stars explode

To share their dying light

A war is waged

Where the wolves once roamed

All battles are lost

On the emotional dreamscape

Some will wait in hiding

Wondering why they went to war

Were they simply fighting

For a wish that has gone wrong

My Law by Tieme Ranapiri (1800s) or Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919)

(this poem has been attributed to both authors)

The sun may be clouded, yet ever the sun
Will sweep on its course till the Cycle is run.
And when into chaos the system is hurled
again shall the Builder reshape a new world.

Your path may be clouded, uncertain your goal:
Move on - for your orbit is fixed to your soul.
And though it may lead into darkness of night
The torch of the Builder shall give it new light.

You were. You will be! Know this while you are:
Your spirit has traveled both long and afar.
It came from the Source, to the Source it returns
The Spark which was lighted eternally burns.

 It slept in a jewel. It leapt in a wave.
It roamed in the forest. It rose from the grave.
It took on strange garbs for long eons of years
and now in the soul of yourself it appears.

From body to body your spirit speeds on
It seeks a new form when the old one has gone
and the form that it finds is the fabric you wrought
On the loom of the Mind from the fibre of Thought.
As dew is drawn upwards, in rain to descend
Your thoughts drift away and in Destiny blend.
You cannot escape them, for petty or great,
Or evil or noble, they fashion your Fate.

Somewhere on some planet, sometime and somehow
Your life will reflect your thoughts of your Now.
My law is unerring, no blood can atone
The structure you build you will live in alone.
From cycle to cycle, through time and through space
Your lives with your longings will ever keep pace
And all that you ask for, and all you desire
Must come at your bidding, as flame out of fire.

Once list' to that Voice and all tumult is done
Your life is the Life of the Infinite One.
In the hurrying race you are conscious of pause
With love for the purpose, and love for the Cause.

You are your own Devil, you are your own God
You fashioned the paths your footsteps have trod.
And no one can save you from Error or Sin
Until you have hark'd to the Spirit within.

Imagine Oceania

Oceania, in 13 parts

Swirling around the vortex
Spirals of light drawn in
No escape from the universal pull
Falling into the depths of time (Quasar)

Watching from above
Secrets known, forever seen
Darkness grows
Hidden silent and cold
In our own reality (Panopticon)

Hanging from the heavens
A guide to light the way
Stories told by night
And shadows cast by day (The Celestials)

A glow within, burning bright
A feeling of peace in its presence
The threads of time slowly unwind
And give way to reveal its essence (Violet Rays)

The cold dark days you bring
Standing still against the wind
Waiting for new beginnings
Awakening from within (My Love is Winter)

We knew from the start
It would change the way we feel
Music from the heart
A way of showing us it's real (One Diamond One Heart)

Circling wheels against the sky
They spin in a dizzy daze
Making patterns against the sun
Finding wishes and opportune ways
A roulette for chances undone
To answer those who ask why (Pinwheels)

A rough stone polished smooth over time
By tidal waves
It sits alone but free
At the edge of the sand
Waves come to take it back to the sea (Oceania) (stolen from an older poem)

She rides to the edge of the waves
On a journey with the moonlight
She'll never say never
As she fades into forever (Pale Horse)

Appearing on the horizon
The creature has left its lair
To warn us of storms and change ahead
A message of chaos in the air (The Chimera)

A storyteller from afar
Bringing the words we need to hear
She'll tell you of the future
Of the trials and despair
And the faith to take us through (Glissandra)

Empty thoughts and empty words
Staring back from a blank page
The ghost writing a hidden tale
Mysteries revealed for the coming age (Inkless)

She waits by the wayside
Wilted by the heat of the sun
Torn by the winds of spring
Only to make her stronger
To face whatever winter may bring (Wildflower)

Concert review - Smashing Pumpkins 1996

 Smashing Pumpkins - Queens Wharf Events Centre, Wellington, 24 May 1996

One fan stated on her way home after this show, that she could die right then and her life would be complete.
The Smashing Pumpkins had left her feeling fulfilled. They certainly lived up to expectations, putting on a stunning performance that seemed to go on forever. They introduced the show with the instrumental "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness' from their latest album of the same name. Then the four members of the band came onto the stage and ripped into their songs. Singer Billy Corgan growled his way through "Today" and a backdrop, showing blended patterns and distorted images, lit up behind the stage. They played some favourites 'Disarm', 'Cherub Rock' and the hard-hitting new songs. A highlight was '1979', where guitarist James Iha persuaded the crowd to imagine they were in a discotheque in the 70's instead of a 'sweaty dance hall'. Everyone danced along to what seemed to be the most popular song of the night.
Then Billy Corgan became serious for a minute when he told the crowd about a Wellington woman who had called them and asked them to dedicate a song to her son, who had died a week before the concert. He had committed suicide. She said they were his favourite band. They played 'Bullet with Butterfly Wings' for him.
Security was alarmed when 20 or so desperate fans broke through a fire exit at the back of the events centre and enjoyed half the concert for free. Also, those who tried to take photos of the show were stopped by security and cameras were confiscated.
After several songs, the band left the stage, and the crowd started stomping and chanting 'Pumpkins!' and other various incomprehensible words. James Iha came back on and asked if it was a soccer or rugby chant, he didn't know, because, as he said, he came from "Chicago, the city of basketball and Michael Jordan". Then he played a solo song of his (Blew Away) before the rest of the band joined him for a few more songs. They left and returned to the stage 3 or 4 times to satisfy the noisy crowd. The drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, sat hidden behind his drums for the whole show, and D'arcy, the female bass player, kept quiet aside from some backup vocals. Billy and James kept saying 'Thank-you Wellington" as the fans screamed their enthusiasm. They said goodbye as they left the stage for the final time, leaving fans with the satisfaction that the Smashing Pumpkins had put on a rockin' good concert, and for some, had made their lives complete.