The Henry Fonda Music Box Theater, built in 1927, has deep navy walls and gold molded trim overhead; it was an odd setting for Corgan's cold, stark electric music. The 70-minute stream of songs off his latest album, "The Future Embrace," provided the soundtrack to a show heavy on futuristic visuals while a bit light on great rock.

The setlist was heavy on bombast, if only because volume and the big screen ruled the evening. Corgan's power comes not just from the big sound but also the big hook. And on new tracks like "The CameraEye" and "All Things Change," he's channeled his early achievements to craft some convincing electro-clash. But mostly the only hint of Corgan's early brilliance was his frantic lead guitar, slicing through dull electro-beats and Depeche Mode-meets-The Cure keyboards.

Not too many rockers can--or would--cover the Bee Gees' "You Don't Know What It's Like" and AC/DC's "It's A Long Way to the Top," let alone on the same night. Corgan embraces those contradictions. It's why he's fronting a band without any real instruments, while belting out lyrics like, "You are love / You are Soul / You are real to me," from the corrosive, soulless "A100."

After each song, the puppy-dog crowd was delirious, blasting applause toward the band and the vivid digital linoleum backdrop. "Thank you for flying our airline," Corgan said at one point, before delivering his punch line: "Every plane crashes."

So what if this airline is destined to crash? At least Corgan knows to add the turbulent guitar solos and give you something to look at. Combined with those few songs that really rocked, Billy Cogan still makes the flying worth your while.