Anyone who was a teenager in the 1990s knows as least on Smashing Pumpkin song. At the height of their popularity in 2000, the well documented in-fighting grew to be too much and they broke up. Now their fans are getting the news they have long waited for – a reunion tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their formation is going to happen, and it is going to start right here in Glendale at the Gila River Arena. The first show will be on Thursday, July 12th.
In 1988, the Smashing Pumpkins formed in Chicago, IL. They popped onto the mainstream scene 3 years after their foundation in 1991 with their debut album of Gish. Over the next decade, they would grow musically and in popularity. They would eventually go on to sell 21 million copies of their 1995 album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. They won Grammys in back to back years, in 1997 and 1998, both for best hard rock performance.
There will be a notable absence however during this reunion tour. Original bassists and one of the founders of the band, D’arcy Wretzky is being left behind. Wretzky has stated that she was initially involved in the talks about a reunion tour, but after some back and forth with Billy Corgan (another original member/founder of the band) she will not be joining them. Wretzky has put forth a story stating that Corgan went so far as to send her a contract offer, and later rescind it stating it wasn’t a real, actual offer.
Corgan will be joined by 2 more original members, James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlain, bring it up to 3 out of the 4 original members. They will be playing mainly hits from their pre-2000 albums, and intertwining some new songs they have been working on. They have made it clear they are hoping this will be the start of a new beginning, with the chance to be a band together again.
They will also be joined by Jeff Schroeder on the tour, which is called the “Shiny and oh so Bright” tour. They are elaborating on returning to a 3-guitar set to really bring out their signature sound and honor their original songs. The Shiny and Oh So Bright tour will be hitting 36 cities across America between July, here in Glendale and wrapping in September in Boise, ID. Tickets go on sale at 10 AM MST on February 23.
