Billy Corgan, Smiling Politely

There's a full review of the Zwan show on the Reviews page, because (a) it wound up being a more full-fledged review than I had initially anticipated, and (b) that part of the site desparately needed some new content. Anyway, the short version is that Billy is writing somewhat happier songs these days that still sound kinda like the Pumpkins, but not quite. And I'm taller than a lot of Zwan fans, which is a good and happy thing at a sold-out show.

After that, it was a quick jaunt up the street to see the Long Count Quartet at Joy Blue. I've been getting a lot of positive comments about my drumming lately, so I guess this was a subconscious reality check, going to see both Jimmy Chamberlain and Steve Gillis in one night. That said, I'm still struck by how similar my approach to drums is to Chamberlain's, considering that I don't really listen to him that much.

It was a weird juxtaposition, really. I enjoyed watching four guys in a small room cutting loose from about ten feet away much more than the epic rock in a 1,100-capacity club that's considered "small" for the type of music. Or, rather, I enjoyed it much differently. Had an interesting conversation with my friend Andrew afterwards about rock versus jazz and sheer blinding technical ability versus songwriting. Another short version is that I'm at peace with the differences between the two, and have reconciled the place of technical ability within my musical voice. Which isn't to say I don't want to get better, or think that I can reach those higher levels, just that I'm relentlessly self-aware of what I think I can contribute and how, in whatever context I find myself. And that's fine by me.