Previews
Smashing Pumpkins
Back in 2005, Billy Corgan spilled his guts in a full-page ad in the Chicago Tribune, declaring, "I want my band back, and my songs, and my dreams."
The Smashing Pumpkins leader did manage to get the second part and maybe the third part on that list, but most would argue he didn't get the first.
Corgan rolls into the A.J. Palumbo Center at 7:30 tonight with drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, but no James Iha or D'arcy Wretzky. Those original and exotic Pumpkins are replaced by hired guns Jeff Schroeder, Ginger Reyes and Lisa Harriton.
It's the first Smashing Pumpkins show in Pittsburgh since 1999, when the original members popped into Metropol on the "Arising" club tour to road-test material from the forthcoming "Machina/The Machines of God." The album was a bit of a bust, and the band called it quits in May 2000 after a 12-year run that saw it rise to the top of the '90s heap.
Since then, Corgan, 40, who's not doing any tour press, has been a diminished presence on the scene, fronting the band Zwan and releasing a solo record. When Iha and Wretzky turned down Corgan's formal reunion invitation, he and Chamberlin forged on with "Zeitgeist," the band's heaviest record yet. Although the reviews have been mixed, it debuted at No. 2 in July and is hanging around the Top 100.
In its wake, Corgan is on the road with something to prove, and the buzz on this tour is ... bring earplugs, he's cranking up the volume.
The Bravery opens the show. Tickets are $47.50 to $57.50. Call 412-323-1919.
-- Post-Gazette pop music critic Scott Mervis
Pittsburgh Philharmonic
Dungeons, skeletons, dragons and witches? They're all in a new work written for the Pittsburgh Philharmonic (formerly North Pittsburgh Philharmonic) with an eye toward older children. "Dragon at a Party," by Alastair Stout, music director and organist at Coraopolis United Methodist Church, is a setting of four ghoulish poems for soprano and orchestra that will debut at 7 p.m. Saturday at North Hills Junior High School Auditorium.
"The piece, in four movements, weaves the scary with the silly, making a great fabric for a Halloween concert," says Roger Tabler, music director of the Philharmonic. Soprano Amy Stabnau will sing and narrate.
The poems are taken from "Wicked Poems" edited by Roger McGough.
"They are rather bizarre, which I think adds to the fun, in a creepy kind of way!" says Valerie Golik, executive director. "I think it's a great way to encourage young people to envision poetry as music and music as poetry."
The poems are: Nick Toczek's "Dragon at a Party," Carol Ann Duffy's "Jamjar," Paul Dehn's "Alternative Endings to an Unwritten Ballad" and McGough's "Lullaby for Isobel."
A world premiere is a serious commitment for a community orchestra, but the Philharmonic tries to commission one every two seasons. "We want to give a voice to today's composers, as well as celebrate good music from the past," says Tabler.
Spooky favorites such as Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain" and Verdi's "Masked Ball" Overture will add to the ambience.
Tickets: $5 students (12 and under free), $8-$10 seniors and $12-$15 adults; call 412-394-3353.
-- Post-Gazette classical music critic Andrew Druckenbrod
Reviews
Srishti Dances of India
Sreyashi Dey continued her dance journey with an Odissi/Manipuri collaboration as Srishti Dances of India presented "Angika" at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater on Saturday.
"Angika" literally means "of the body," and Dey and her colleagues explored different interpretations and a shared spirit in six dance selections. Manipuri experts Sohini Ray and Sanjib Bhattacharya contributed a wonderful drumming technique, knee spins and turning jumps during their segments. Dey and Manoranjan Pradhan articulated the nobility and fluidity that is the hallmark of the Odissi heritage.
Most fascinating was the trading of phrases so that audience members could clearly learn from the two dance traditions and appreciate, in particular, Dey's powerful emotional range, from a serene countenance to a fierce anger.
-- Post-Gazette dance critic Jane Vranish
Point Park Student Project
There must be something in the air system of Point Park University's new green dance building because the Student Choreography Project, all 20 works, took a soaring leap in terms of quality and thoughtfulness at the performances this past weekend at The Playhouse in Oakland.
While virtually each piece had its own merit, many had a solid point of view, including Norwegian student Caroline Skjorshammer's "Kjaerlighet," part mime, part Edvard Munch, part love story, and Luke Murphy's corporate-stressful "That Success With a White Picket Fence."
Others that scored high marks included Rob Priore's AIDS-related "Positive," Jessica Taylor's mechanical "TRONIC" and Matt Landi's whimsical "Milk & A Maid."
-- Jane Vranish
First Published: October 9, 2007, 8:00 a.m.