Customer Reviews

Smashing Pumpkins: Vieuphoria Live

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Thank god they released this on DVD, my VHS tape was wearing out, and sadly the box was crushed over the 7 or so years I've had it. This DVD is worth getting if you love the pumpkins from the early years (Gish-Siamese Era), which yes, I DO LOVE! You get to see an awesome acoustic version of "Cherub Rock", nessled against a hard rock full distortion version of one of the pumpkins biggest hits "Disarm" on UK TV, in full trippy british tv color! Other hilights include "I Am One" live in Spain, where Billy goes on a full out rant "GIMME GIMME GIMME GET GET NOTHING", and my favorite is "Slunk" on Japanese tv from 1992 - the band jokes around with the Japanese hosts, then busts out in full out RAWK power with Slunk. Nothing but raw emotion here. "Mayonaise" is another gem, done acoustically outdoors infront of a small crowd, mixed with old and new footage of the band.. its rather touching and one of my favorite moments on the DVD. I also love "Soma", which is a beautiful song in and of itself, but to see live.. is just.. amazing. The DVD is better than the VHS version because they tacked on the "Lost Tapes" from 1994, which were recorded during the Lollapalooza shows of 1994. Another favorite part is "Silverf***" live in London - which is just a great ending to the DVD... Billy really gets into it and at the end totally destroys Jimmy's drumkit and falls all over the stage. The only drawback on this DVD is that during "Silverf***" when Billy sings "Over the Rainbow" (I believe it is only in the Lost Tapes section.. it might also be in the verison live in London) the sound cuts out, because I guess the band didn't have the rights to the song to have it reproduced on the DVD.. which is kind of crappy because you know what he's saying anyway. A great DVD for any pumpkins fan, this is still my favorite era of the band, they were young, with such raw emotion and so much to say, I'll always love the Pumpkins but this is just the best.

OH- and of course this DVD captures the band's quirky and funny spirit with "therapy sessions"- which features Jimmy (and other bandmates) working out his frustrations by talking to.. a porcelain duck! There are a lot of other funny moments on the dvd- it just captures the bands' spirit totally!

This DVD has a Great content and it is worth the money for sure! Some bands can not reproduce the quality of their recorded music on their concerts but it is not the Smashing Pumpkins. They are better on their live performances, their music becoumes filled with more passion.
Here on Amazon there is no listing for the content, so I try to make one...
1 - quiet - live in Atlanta ('93)
2 - disarm - live on English TV ('93)
3 - cherub rock (acoustic for MTV) ('93)
4 - today - live in Chicago ('93)
5 - i am one - live in Barcelona ('93)
6 - soma - live in London ('93)
7 - slunk - live on Japanese TV ('92)
8 - geek u.s.a. - live on German TV ('93)
9 - mayonaise - live everywhere ('88-'94)
10 - silferf... - live in London ('94)

The above list is absolutley not complete, becouse we can see interviews with the band members, James talking about his dog Bug, Darcy performing a little girl playing with dolls, you can see how they recorded their album "siamese dream" - they show the studio and the equipments, and tell why they chose them for the album, and also there is Butch Vig from Garbage (he was the producer of the album, and someone from the record company visits them for checking and listens how they record the song "quiet". And then there is one hour long material from the Lollapalooza which is also great, becouse they play very differently, I mean they go more crazy then in London for example. There is only one thing I miss from here - as a Pumpkin fan, I have recorded their live concert in London Astoria from the MTV, and I can say they were very good then, and that concert should be here in full length!

The Smashing Pumpkins were an inseperable part of my life. I grew up with countless melodies in my head, along with the images of Billy in silver pants and his Zero shirt, Billy in the ice cream truck, D'arcy grooving with the bass...I even saw the Smashing Pumpkins with my mom (oh my god the truth is revealed!) when i was 13 years old.
What i never knew about the Pumpkins was that they weren't really rock demi Gods, they were just a bunch of rock demi geeks, who somehow found a bridge between metal and pop and made music that was strange, dreamy, and often stellar. This DVD catches the Pumpkins in they're growing up stage; going from a small club band to the Lollapalooza playing, mega tour headlining, double album releasing major rock and roll group. Here the vibe is still intimate, and we can catch SP playing early songs like "Today" and "Geek U.S.A." in clubs alongside television renditions of "Disarm" (beefed up and noisy) and "Mayonaisse" (acoustic and silly). They also like to film skits in their free time, which don't display any great talent for filmmaking, but do offer a glimpse at the band's personalities and often disarming sense of humor. (There is also a tribute to the Frogs, which is quite hilarious, as the Frogs often are.)
This dvd catched the Pumpkins in the middle of their Siamese Dream, and it is a further testament to the amazing career that Billy Corgan has had and continues to have.

The Smashing Pumpkins are legends. Although everyone has moved on, and Corgan and Chamberlain moved to Zwan (very good new CD), this DVD collection is a must buy, fan or not. Fans will enjoy the little interludes with the band members, but the live performances are unbelievably good. Go ahead to the "Lost 94 tapes" section to reveal yet another eight or so live videos of more Siamese Dreams songs that anyone wil enjoy.

Includes some comedic interludes with a funny intro to "Geek USA" in Germany. "Stoppen ze throwen ze cuppen," Billy said to a crowd of Germans throwing beer onstage.

Forget even being a crazed out Pumpkins fan, if you kiddies like the rock and roll dished out via live concert footage, Vieuphoria is tops.
i.e. YOU MUST BUY THIS unless you are a complete moron, or just have no money.

good thing DVD's last a long time, this one is worth keeping until I am old and senile. : )
heck fire, maybe it will be EVEN better that way.

I Love The Smashing Pumpkins and this is some great live footage. It contains every track off of Earphoria except the instrumental " Why Am I So Tired? ". It also contains some funny skits with the band in between the live performances. Unlike Earphoria this DVD contains The Lost Tapes of '94. In other words it contains A whole other concert. This is great live footage and the skits are pretty funny. This is a must for you Pumpkin fans out there.

If you're a Smashing Pumpkin's fan, then u must get this DVD. It is very simple to use...No fast-forward or rewinding here, just one click to your favorite performances. This DVD contains everything from the original VHS Vieuphoria plus an hour of newly discovered performance footage from the lost '94 tapes. The video quality of this DVD is outstanding! It would look excellent on a big screen TV. For those who never seen this video, the pumpkins performed live around the globe through out 1992 and 1994. After watching this tape, fans will understand the band much more. This DVD is definitally worth 20 bucks! If you are truly a Smashing Pumpkins' fan, then u must get this video!!!

my on loves the Smashing pumpkins and was Very happy to get this DVD....it's fairly hard to find and a good price as well...Very Happy I bought this!

If not for the bonus content on this DVD I might have actually been annoyed at the offering of the main film on this DVD. To make this absolutely clear, I'm a big pumpkins fan from their album releases so this was a huge risk since having seen the VH1's storytellers and other people's reactions planted quite a seed of doubt regarding Smashing Pumpkin's performance value. Thankfully the performances are a lot better than average and some reach awesomeness to use a trendy typo buzzword. But the snippets in between performances are wtf at best. The pumpkin's brand of humor or attempt of humor suck at best. Sorry, but I sat through it and decided that in further viewings I'd skip those clips because they take away from some very good performances. Where does this band shine live though? If anyone says Billy Corgan's drama, they're sipping too much pumpkin flavored koolaid. The focal point of this band is Jimmy Chamberlain's thunderous drumming and Billy's guitar work, not his drama or all of his vocal chops which are mixed though leaning to the positive side. Thank god because I've heard my fair share of "his vocals suck live" comments. So in essence, if you're a Pumpkins fan, you can buy this album without worrying it'll totally suck. There will be parts you will skip but there will be parts that will make you raise and eyebrow while pumping your first.

Boy am I glad I decided to get this DVD. If you are a fan of the good old days of the band then this dvd is for you! Packed with live performances of some of the best songs from from their early 90's albums and some goofy little skits and sarcastic interviews, this will surely provide a nostalgic dose of joy to any serious Pumpkins fan.

Although I would have liked to have seen non-acoustic versions of Mayonaise and Cherub Rock I still give Veiuphoria a partially biased 5 out of 5 stars.

Happy Shopping everyone!