An Ashvegas apology and a Smashing Pumpkins thank you

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Ashvegas has been busy defending ourselves against not one, but two – count ’em, two – MountainXpress editors after an ill-advised post on how we thought, in our humble opinion, the Xpressers had muffed coverage of the Smashing Pumpkins. Geez, what a big mistake. Let us state now that we’re throwin’ in the towel. In the blogwars, it’s MountainX 10, Ashvegas 0.

Look, guys, we’re sorry. We didn’t mean to pick a fight. Seriously. We’re just offering our opinion here. (Although “The History of Polio in WNC” was lame.) And we were wrong. (There. We said it.)

Cecil, we have a timetable for removal of our blogwar soldiers – now. Steve, we know you’ll probably never pimp us again, but puh-lease consider putting us back in your blogpimp rotation. C’mon. You’re pimping Edgy Mama and her computer woes? She’s on a PC, for frack’s sack. At least we’re keepin’ it real on the MacDaddy over here. Our post on the new hours for the Clingman Ave. Cafe certainly deserved more consideration.

Sigh. We’ve really been trying to clean up our act over here. Maybe it’s too late.

O well…

Speaking of MountainX and Smashing Pumpkins, since you guys haven’t blogged it, guess we will. Did everybody see the full-page ad that the Smashing Pumpkins took out in the Xpress last week thanking Ashvegas for its support?

It read:

It’s our sincere wish to take this moment to thank the community of Asheville for such a warm and heartfelt reception to the Smashing Pumpkins, and by extension, our 9 shows here at the Orange Peel. As I write this to you, we have done 4 memorable concerts so far, each one unique in its own way, and we are so very grateful to the many fans who have flown in from all over the world to be here with us at this important time.

What we could not have anticipated however was the incredible outpouring of support and love we would receive from the city of Asheville itself. Everywhere we go, we have been greeted with encouragement, signs, gratitude, and some good old fashioned Southern hospitality that has made this stay truly happy. We came here with the hope that we could take some chances musically, write some new songs, and play our hearts out, and so far that has worked out pretty good.

Just in the first week alone we are already playing 12 different songs, new and old, that we weren’t playing just a few weeks ago. So we cannot thank you all enough. From the bottom of our black hearts, thank you, thank you, thank you! I’ll leave you then with a few lines that I wrote in honor of Asheville … from the song “?”

What is this frightened air between us?
What is the question posed?
Where is this violence I sense creeping?
What is your secret code?
I want to know
Why are the pipers calling towards us?
What are we meant to show?
Why are you smiling daggers at me?
What do you have that’s mine to hold?
It’s the song I sing!
I pull into town
Smoke rings around the square
I tarry the ground
Feathers and flame shall explode
But are we getting close?
To an answer?
To my questions?
To my small notions of Rome?

Wow.