Music Banter - The Smashing Pumpkins @ Manchester Evenings News Arena

Hope Corgan read this comment from a fan at the Nottingham gig posted on the SP's myspace page

Quote:

My all time favourite band announced a tour.

Smashing Pumpkins? WOW I thought. I got my tickets for Nottingham as soon as they went on sale. Then my idol just ****s on me.

You know what Billy? The moment you go onstage, you're there to perform, it doesn't matter if there are 3 people in the crowd or 3 million. In fact it doesn't matter if the entire audience hate your music- you go onstage to perform. Just one encore would have been enough. Was it because of that bum note in "1979"? Hell I've played heaps of bum notes onstage. You dust yourself down and just get on with it. Not run away in a strop! Was it because the audience weren't electrifying? So ****ing what! When people buy your records and your t-shirts, and line your pockets and buy your bloody guitars, the least you can do is play a show for them!!

I'm seeing this more and more, and as a musician myself, I promise to never get to a point where I think I'm better than my fans. I would play though 3 watt amps in a room full of people who hate my music, and I would play from the second I go on to the last note of the last song. If one person in my audience likes me, that is more than enough to keep me happy because I play music because I love love it. It's my life. And I'd of chewed off my own leg to be where you were on that stage, playing to all those people.

Real musicians don't want to be rock stars, they want to write the best music they can and get it heard and loved by as many people as they can!

I don't hate you Billy, I could never do that- your music has inspired me beyond anything that words can say. I'm just severely disappointed. I waited years and years to get the chance to see you live in concert. And if I was in your shoes that night, and you were the one who's eyes were tranfixed on me and my guitar, I'd of finished the set for you and you alone.